The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Development and Urban Planning, Mr Toyin Ayinde, on Thursday, revealed that the collapsed guest house, belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), has no approval from the state government.Testifying before the coroner, sitting in Ikeja and presided over by chief magistrate, Mr Oyetade Komolafe, said';;;;According to the Nation ,the 300-Level English Language and Literature student of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka has not been seen anywhere, 43 days after she went to the night club with her friends. She is the only girl in a family of three.
Annabel, 24, a native of Enugu State, was last seen on Wednesday, September 17 evening, when she left her Paradise City Hostel in Iyiagu Estate, Awka.When she was leaving the club, Annabel reportedly left at midnight with a guy she met at the club. That was the last time she was seen.
Annabel's friend and hostel mate, who simply gave her name as Ifeoma, said after clubbing, the girls decided to find a place to sleep before returning to their hostels. But Annabel, she said, told her friends she wanted to go with Mmiri, a male acquaintance, she met at the club. She was said to have told her friends that she was in need of money, which could have informed her decision to go away with the guy.
When she did not return in the morning, it was learnt that Ada and Chika called Annabel's phone but were disappointed to hear a male voice claiming to have found the phone on the ground and asked the 'owner' to come for it.
Ada and Chika, it was gathered, retrieved the phone and contacted Annabel's elder brother, Ifeanyi, who reported the matter at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Awka.
CAMPUSLIFE learnt that Ada and Chika were detained for alleged complicity but were later released on bail.When contacted on the phone, it was learnt that Mmiri claimed Annabel left his house at 3:30am when she refused to enter his room.
But, after the conversation, Mmiri reportedly switched off his phone and stopped going to a popular bar, where he drinks with his friends. He is nowhere to be found.
Our correspondent's efforts to speak with Annabel's friends she went to the nightclub with were futile. All of them declined to comment on the issue.
Annabel's roommate, Ukamaka, gave an account of what happened when she spoke to CAMPUSLIFE on telephone.She said:
"Annabel told me she was going to the club that evening. Her friends, Ada and Chika, waited in the compound till they were joined by their other friends. I had a premonition of the incident in a dream I had the previous night. I told her not to go to the club but she refused. When the other three girls arrived, they all left together. When she did not return in the morning, I called her line but nobody picked. Later, a man claimed he found it."
Asked to describe the kind of person Annabel is, Ukamaka said that her roommate is a good Christian and hardworking, saying Annabel is a good tailor. "I believe Annabel is a victim of circumstance,"
Ifeanyi said his family remained devastated by the incident.
"We are devastated at the moment. When I received the news, I travelled from Onitsha to Awka to report the matter at the police station. The matter is still being attended to at SCID and "B" Division. We have even gone spiritual to seek God's help to find my missing sister. Our Dad is late but mum is highly disorganised."
Ifeanyi said the matter had been reported to the UNIZIK management.Annabel's mother in Onitsha, fought back tears as neighbours consoled her. She said:
"I warned my daughter to stay clear of bad friends, but she would not listen. When she was admitted in a hospital a few months ago, my spirit never accepted the kind of girls who visited her. Now, they have done their worst. I can't see my daughter, now. Where is my only daughter? Annabel was seven months in my womb when my husband died."
Mrs Edeh said she had consulted a prophet, who confirmed to her that her daughter is alive but held captive somewhere. She claimed that the prophet informed her that it was Annabel's friends that facilitated her 'abduction' and threatened to sue them if her daughter did not return within days.
She added:
"All I am asking is the safe return of my daughter. I have no other girl. If she was kidnapped, those holding her would have called us. I am confused. We are only praying to God and hoping that she returns home safe and alive. I am pleading with anyone, who knows her whereabouts, to give useful information that can help us to locate her."
It was learnt that the incident happened on Monday, around 12.30pm, in Atlantic View Estate, Alpha Beach Road, Lekki.
Punch learnt that Okechukwu was on her menstrual period and had gone out to buy sanitary pads.
The Imo State indigene was said to be on her way back home when she was accosted by the stranger.
She said,
"After buying the sanitary pads, I was going back home when I saw a man, who should be in his forties, standing at a corner. He approached me and ordered me to take him to my house."He put his hand into his pocket as if he wanted to bring out a weapon. He said he would kill me if I shouted.When we got to the house, he said I should shut the door and I did. He said I should remove my clothes; and I started begging him, but he refused to listen.So I told him to let me get to the kitchen because I was cooking something and I would be back. I got a rod and hid it in my wrapper. I went back and moved slowly towards him, still begging, but he refused.He was taking off his clothes and wearing a condom when I used the rod to hit him in the head. I started screaming. And then I picked the phone and called my uncle."
The victim's uncle, who pleaded anonymity, told Punch Metro that he went to report the matter at the Ilasan Police Station after learning what had happened.
He said,
"I was not at home when the incident happened and her younger brother had also gone out. So, she was alone in the house and it was possible he had been monitoring her movement.When she called me and said what had happened, I left the office and went to the police station in Jakande Estate where I reported the matter."
A police source told our correspondent that investigators found a pack of condoms on the deceased, including a phone without a SIM card.
The source added that since the incident happened, no one had shown up to claim the man's corpse.
He said,
"He was about wearing the condom when the girl hit him on the head and he died. His mission was to rape her and steal from the house. He probably took advantage of her frail stature.We have got information that he was not alone. He belonged to a gang that has been terrorising Lekki residents for some time now. And that's why since this incident, nobody knows his name and address, and none of his relatives has come forward to say they know him.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, promised to call our correspondent back, but he had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
Okechukwu was however said to have been arrested and detained in police custody.
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