A student of Rivers State Polytechnic, Loretta Odikagbo, has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Rivers State Police Command for allegedly killing her Badoo lover, Charles Bankole Orisanya.
Miss Odikagbo, who met the deceased on a social network, badoo, was said to have killed her boyfriend due to his inability to fulfill his promise to her.
The deceased, who was in his early 30s, was a civil engineer and a staff of Halliburton Company at Trans-Amadi area of Port Harcourt and a native of Akoko, Ondo State.
The deceased was reportedly killed on the 19th of September 2014 when he was suffocated by his girlfriend alongside two others with a polythene bag.
The suspects, who have been on the run, were in December 2014 after crack detectives investigating the case were able to resolve the mystery as they worked on an item picked from the scene crime. This eventually led to Loretta’s arrest and one of the accomplishes while another is still at large.
According to reports, the deceased was said to have invited Miss Odikagbo over to his place on the 19th of September last year, who in turn hired two men who followed her to her lover’s house and hid themselves under the staircase.
Below is an interview the prime suspect, Miss Odikagbo granted newsmen:
“I am from Rumuomasi, Obio/Akpor Local Government area of Rivers State. I was born on May 2, 1988. I hold a Diploma in Mass Communication and was to resume for my HND in January 2015 but I was arrested in December 2014.
“I asked a friend, Moses to help harass a man who was my boyfriend but is now deceased. I met Bankole (Orisanya) through a social network called Badoo in January 2014 and we got intimate online since he was at the rig offshore when we met. He was there for two months and we became internet lovers. We were chatting and exchanging pictures. When he came back, he invited me over and we started dating.
“The basis of it all was money. When I met him, it was all promises upon promises. Along the line, the sex was going on and the money was not coming. He would give me N10, 000 or N15, 000 but that was not what I expected from him. Also when we first met, to me, he was a single man but along the line, I discovered he was married.
“We talked about it but he didn’t want the affair to end. He said that it would not be a problem and he could handle it. But I only continued with him because I was waiting for the promises to be fulfilled. I was not interested in marriage to him. We had a bit of misunderstanding concerning money and our relationship. I asked my friend who is also my in-law to help me so that I could get the money forcefully from Bankole.
“Along the line, I could not control my anger so I asked my in-law to come and help harass him to get what I could get from him and move on with my life.
“On a particular night, he called me and I went to his place with my in-law and one other guy. I felt it was an opportunity to deal with him. We went to his residence and I managed to sneak the two men into the compound. I hid them under the stairs. I went in to Bankole and we made love. After we were done, I left him in the bedroom and went to the kitchen as if I wanted to drink water, and let the guys in. I made it look like both of us were being robbed. We met Bankole in the sitting room; probably trying to know what kept me away for long.
“There was no light. I didn’t see any gun. My in-law was holding a tape while the other guy held a torch and something that looked like a gun. Bankole and I went on our knees and the guys were threatening us, asking for money. My lover told them that he had money in his account so he gave them his ATM card pin number.
“My-in law tied his hands with the tape and the second guy acted like I had to be the one to follow him to the ATM. It was raining heavily that night. It was almost midnight. We left for the ATM and I withdrew a little over N120, 000 and paid the guy off. I gave him about N30, 000 or thereabout. My in-law came to meet me at the ATM and I also gave him almost N50, 000.
However, Loretta denied knowing what led to the death of the victim.
“I took Bankole’s LG phone while his laptop was brought to me the following day by my in-law. I can’t remember what the other guy took from Bankole’s house. I didn’t know anything about the polythene that was used to cover his head.”
“I didn’t have the intention of dating him anymore; I just wanted to move on. I only knew about Bankole’s death when I was arrested.”
However, Odikagbo’s in-law, Moses, who hails from Akwa Ibom State gave a different account of what happened,
He said: “Loretta called me and said that she and her boyfriend were having some issues. She said he owed her some money and had refused to ‘settle’ her. She said she would call me to go and harass him, promising to notify me whenever he called her. Before then, she gave me some money to buy a torchlight, which I did.
“On a day, she called me and came to meet me. We went to Rumuomasi to pick another guy called Winkoro. He refused to be part of the plan and we left him. As we walked, we saw a boy whom I knew but don’t know his name. I introduced him to her and she explained her intention to him and he joined us.
“She took us to the man’s house and kept us under the staircase. Earlier, she gave the other guy a rope and masking tape and I was with a torch light and an iron object that looked like a gun. After a while, she called us in and we got into the kitchen. Minutes later, according to her instruction, we got into the room where she was with her boyfriend.
“I pointed the torch at the man and said: “Na you dey owe our sister and you no wan pay”. The lover boy pleaded that he was going to pay; that we should calm down. The guy with us tied the man’s legs with a rope and taped his hands. Loretta stood up and slapped the man repeatedly. After that, she asked the man of money but he said he had no money at home. He pointed at his ATM cards and gave Loretta the pin number.
“She and the other guy left for the ATM and I stayed with our victim. I later called her to confirm if the pin was right and she said yes. I asked if I should start coming but she asked me to wait at the man’s house. Before she left, she and the other guy packed some items like laptop, phone. When she came back, she went to the man’s room.
“She came out, went to the kitchen, brought a polythene bag and said that if I did not assist her in killing the man, if the bubble burst, I would be the first person she would mention. She covered the man’s head with the polythene bag and sat on his head while I assisted her in holding the man’s neck until he became motionless.
“Loretta gave me N28, 000. I was arrested on December 10, 2014. She was the one who led the police to me. I took three shirts and a sandal from the man’s house. Taking the man’s life was not in the initial plan.”
On the relationship between them, Moses said that he and Loretta used to drink alcohol together while she was also a chain smoker. Loretta confirmed this and added that she used to smoke marijuana.
