I did not kill my Austria based Lady Friend — 41-year-old Spare Parts Dealer

41-year-old
Festus Aimufua who allegedly murdered his lady
friend, Ms Rose Aifuwa, on Christmas Day.

Aifuwa, a mother of four, was based in Austria
but returned to Nigeria with her Austrian
passport last December to celebrate the Yuletide
with her family.
According to the deceased
family, Festus allegedly killed their daughter
because the deceased was requesting for the
money allegedly owed her by the suspect.

They alleged that on that Christmas Day, their
daughter insisted that Festus should pay the
money but the suspect ran away from the
deceased residence, hitting her with his car.
It
was said that the suspect dragged the deceased
under the car till he got to Upper Mission
Extension junction where he dumped the
mangled body.

After the incident, the Austrian government
contacted the Nigeria Police and demanded that
the
matter be properly investigated since the
deceased was an Austrian citizen.
Ever since the incident, the police in Edo State
has been conducting their investigation and the
suspect confessed to have committed the
murder, though unknowingly.

Sunday Vanguard
spoke to the suspect on Friday and he
expressed regret for killing a woman who,
according to him, he loved. He, however, denied
owing the deceased, asserting that the only
business he had with her was in February last
year and he paid for the goods.
He narrated:

“ I am 41 years old and a motor spare
parts dealer. I did not kill her. It
happened on the 25th of December very
early in the morning. There is one boy
that help me to pack my goods, the boy
was with me.
After I dropped my family, I
now decided to go and drop the boy.
On getting to Upper Mission junction, she
called me and asked if I didn’t know that,
that day was watch night, and that if I
would come to see her.
I said I was
coming.
Immediately I turned my car and drove
down to her shop, she had a bar. On
getting there I saw some boys there
drinking. I called the sales girl there and
told her to give everybody drink. The
drink amounted to N1,800. Among the
boys there one of them knew me, so
bought me one bottle.
So I told my lady
friend that I needed to go and drop the
boy with me as he was drunk. I promised
her that I will come back. That was how
she allowed me go.

“I drove off. We stopped somewhere to
have a drink. I equally bought drink for
people there. But somehow I decided that
I will go home after dropping the boy, but
immediately I passed Upper Mission
junction, near her place, her call came in.
So I told her I was coming and I decided
to turn my car to her house.
When I got to her place, I took a stick of
cigarette from her and told her that I will
need to go home early, that some body
was in my car.
But as I was leaving her
door she blocked me. I told her that I
guessed she was drunk because any time
she was drunk, that was the way she
behaved. But the next thing I noticed was
a slap, I retaliated. Before that I observed
that some body was sleeping somewhere
in her room, where I went to collect the
cigarette.

So I went outside but the boy sleeping
there woke up and told me not to leave
the house.
She went to wake up another
person and was telling the person
something inside. So the guy came out
and said I should not leave the
compound. The boy started making calls,
so I quickly entered my car and locked
the car. I saw her rush towards me but I
had pinned the doors already.
But she
blocked my car and I saw two of the
boys trying to drag her out of my way.
Then I zoomed off, but I was now asking
my boy after we left the compound if I hit
anybody.
The boy said no, that God
forbid. But I was not comfortable because
I was really drunk”.
Asked if he was owing the deceased, he said:
“The only goods she brought to me was
in February, that was when we met. She
brought them from Austria. I am not
owing her a dime. Not as if we were even
fighting but the problem she had was
that any time I visited her she will not
want me to leave when I wanted to. And
that was the argument, especially when
she was drunk”.
“After I checked my car very well, I did
not notice anything.
I went to my friend’s
place to inform him of my fear. I now
called some body to go to my lady’s
house to find out whether I hit some
body. The boy went and told me that
there was nothing like that. So I became
confused. I called my younger brother to
help me investigate if she was okay. He
called me later to say that he heard she
was in hospital and that they had
deposited money.
He later called me to
say that they saw a body at Upper
Mission junction and that it was the lady.
I called my friends and they said I should
go to the police station to report myself.

“I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. This is
somebody we did everything together and
I loved her. I did not beat her, I don’t
know what happened. After the incident,
some youths went to my house to burn it
down, all my people left the house.

My
sisters can no longer open their shops
because they are scared. I am not owing
her and we didn’t have any problem.

I
even bought her a bag of rice for
Christmas. I did not kill before, I am
devastated”.

Posted in: Austria,killing,Police