The family of late Confidence Nwanma, the lady that was allegedly killed by her boyfriend, Saliu Ladayo, has declared that the killer boyfriend must marry the corpse of the deceased in line with the tradition of the family.
Nwanma was allegedly stabbed to death last week in Ladayo in the Oshinle area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, following a disagreement that ensued between the lovers.
The alleged killer had been arrested by the men of the Ondo State Police Command.
The deceased’s father, Mr. Jude Nwanma, told Punch at his residence at Oke Aro, Akure, that the custom must be observed in their home town in the Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State before his late daughter would be buried.
Nwanma explained that failure to perform the traditional rite would cause calamity to befall the family of Ladayo.
He said, “In our place, it is mandatory that the man must marry the corpse of our daughter. We must observe the custom by taking the corpse to our village where the marriage would take place.
“It is mandatory that he pays the dowry in double because he brought our daughter dead for marriage.
“He would observe all the dictates of the custom before our family would let him go. Without this, every young person from the family of the man will never get to the age of our daughter. They will die a sudden death just like our daughter.
“This is not our making; it is the way our ancestors put it down even before we were born. Our people all over the world are waiting for the court judgment. Whichever way it goes, the boy must perform the marital rite to our daughter’s corpse.
Meanwhile, the killer boyfriend, who was paraded at the headquarters of the state police command, said the devil pushed him to kill his girlfriend.
The 24-year-old man said, “When she came to my house, some people on the street told her that I came to the house with another woman. She was annoyed and she started cursing me that if I made love with another girl, I would not make it in life.
“She left and when she came back to me later, I asked her to forgive me and reverse the curses. She refused and I seized her mobile phone. We both struggled for the phone and I didn’t know what came over me; I just took a knife and stabbed her to death.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Femi Joseph, said the suspect would soon appear in court.
