Jilted lover cut fiancee’s throat for turning down his proposal

But for divine intervention, a young lady, Boluwatife Ajayi, the 31st of December, 2014, would have been her last on earth if her jilted lover, Henry Sikiru, had succeeded in murdering her for daring to refuse his marriage proposal.

The jealous young man who is now in police custody, allegedly attempted to slit his girlfriend’s throat for turning down his marriage proposal and it was only her cries for help that drew the attention of passersby who rescued her.

The Lagos State Police Command reports that the furious Sikiru used a blade and attempted to cut Ajayi’s throat but failed in the attempt. The suspect allegedly lured his lover to an uncompleted building located at Alhaja Wosilat Street, Baruwa area of Lagos on New Year’s Eve, with the intention to carry out the evil deed but was caught in the act.

He was said to have pinned the struggling Ajayi down and started slitting her throat with a razor blade, when some nearby residents heard her faint cry and dashed into the building where she was rescued.

One Oluwole Olalekan who witnessed the sordid incident, said he was sitting in front of his house when he heard Ajayi’s strangled cry.

"The boy was using the sharp razor to cut the lady’s neck and also trying to strangle her, so that she would not cry out for help. It was a few minutes before 11pm and there was no light.

I was sitting in front of my house to receive fresh breeze before going to bed when I heard a voice that shouted 'Egba mi o' ( Yoruba for help me).

I decided to trace the voice. On getting to the uncompleted shop, I switched on my torchlight, only to find the boy sitting on the lady’s chest, trying to strangle her.

I shouted 'thief! thief!! thief!!!'

The man dashed off but I ran after him, still screaming. Other neighbours joined me in chasing him. Luckily, we were able to nab him. We handed him over to the police. There were deep cuts on three different areas on the lady’s neck. We took her to the nearby hospital."

The Chairman of the Baruwa Community Development Association (CDA), Rtd. Captain Akinmona, said he and his people suspected Sikiru was sent by ritual killers as against his claim that he was angry that the lady turned down his marriage proposal.

The suspect, however, confessed to the police that the victim was his lover and that he saw her off to the street but could not say what prompted him to harm her.

"Bola is my girlfriend. She came to me for money to plait her hair. I gave her N3,000. While I was seeing her off, I did not know what came over me but I only realised I used the razor in my pocket which I used to cut my nails earlier to cut her neck. She had offended me earlier. She refused my marriage proposal which made me very angry.

I wanted to kill her and kill myself."

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), in charge of Ipaja Police Station, CSP Ajewole Adebayo, said that the suspect had been arrested alongside some boys residing in the same place and investigations were on to unravel the truth, promising that the case would soon be transferred to the higher authority before taking it to court.

On his part, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Kenneth Nwosu, said the victim was presently receiving treatment at a private hospital.