There was confusion at Ilasa-Ekiti in Ekiti East yesterday as an unidentified young herdsman chopped off the head of his girlfriend with Cutlass.
The incident which occurred at a streamside on Tuesday evening in the agrarian community, popular for its huge yams’ market, has thrown it into serious bewilderment.
The victim who was said to be a very young lady, and of the same tribe with her suspected assailant was attacked beside a stream where she had gone to fetch water with her younger sister.
The assailant was said to have ambushed the lady, grabbed her from behind, while she bent down to collect some water from the stream, held her by the head and chopped it off.
He was said to have took to his heel after the dastard act but was later arrested through the information provided by the younger sister of the deceased who was at the scene of the incident.
Multiple sources in the community including the traditional rulers of the community the Alasa of Ilasa, Oba Ajayi Omolagba revealed that the young lady had been allegedly been betrothed to the suspected assailant as a future wife while she was still a teenager in line with their custom and tradition.
According to the sources, trouble started last month when the suspect requested the lady to spend the Eld-el-Fitr with him but the family of the lady refused to release her, a situation which angered the suspect who assumed the contract had been breeched by the family hence the dastardly act.
A separate source told Vanguard that the lady after growing up observed that the supposed husband was a drunkard and drug addict, which had made her to start avoiding him, thwarting further plans for marriage arrangements.
Some relatives of the deceased who preferred to be anonymous expressed sadness over the development, affirmed that the suspected murderer had indeed requested her late fiancé spend the Eld-el-Fitr with him and the marriage was supposed to be officially finalised a day before he took her life.
The Alasa of Ilasa Oba Ajayi Omolagba said the community has been in shock since the incident occurred.
He said he had summoned the families of all parties involved and their landlords to a meeting where resolutions were reached on how to forestall future occurrence.
Oba Omolagba noted that the community would also make necessary appease to God as such incident was strange and a taboo in the land.
When contacted, the Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer, Caleb Ikechukwu, confirmed the incident.
He said investigation has been launched into the unfortunate incident by the Command, to unravel the causes of such dastardly act.
CULLED FROM VANGUARD
