By Chioma Okezie-Okeh
Operatives of the Lagos State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, have commenced investigation to unravel the mystery behind the death of 47-year-old John Bosco Onwuzuruike, who was rushed to the hospital by his live-in lover, Patricia Etu, where he was declared dead.
The police acted after the younger sister of the deceased, Chinyere Onwuzuruike, raised the alarm, alleging that her brother may have died from unnatural causes.
Patricia, who is a lawyer, was alleged to have quickly moved the body of the deceased to Imo State before contacting the family.
Confirming the incident, the state police spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, a superintendent of police, told Daily Sun that the suspect, Patricia, was in their custody.
He said: “We have commenced investigation, so that we can retrieve the body and do autopsy and verify her claims. So far, preliminary findings show that the man did not die at home, the man had high blood pressure (HBP) and suffered an attack. He even explained to the lady that he had a case of BP. She took him to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
“Patricia also told the investigating officers that she tried to contact the family but couldn’t get across to them. She took the corpse to Imo State and that’s where the suspicion started. She is still in detention and further development will be communicated.”
Recounting what led to the suspicion, Chinyere, who narrated the incident in a petition signed by her counsel, stated in part: “That on Saturday, November 26, 2022, at about 10.35pm, she got a call from the deceased’s phone number, having not received a call from him since he moved out of the house. She was pleased to pick up the call, little did she know that it was not her brother, but his girlfriend, Patricia.
She told Chinyere that her consent was needed at one Tolu Medical Centre, Old Ojo Road, by Itire, and that it was urgent. She demanded to know why, the only thought that crossed her mind was maybe something had happened to her brother that required an operation so she asked if her brother was about to undergo an operation and Patricia answered in the affirmative.
“Unable to get a means of transportation to the hospital, Chinyere demanded to speak to the doctor so as to give him permission to proceed with the operation, she equally advised Ms. Patricia to put a call to the deceased’s wife, but Patricia declined.
“She got the shock of her life when the doctor who finally picked the call informed her that her brother was dead. Right after that she got another call from Ms Patricia explaining that the deceased developed breathing problems on his way back from work and was rushed to the hospital.
“The next day, being Sunday, November 27, 2022, Chinyere decided to go to the said hospital to see her brother’s corpse but was told by Patricia’s relatives that the corpse had been transported from Lagos to Owerri in less than 12 hours after the incident and that they had obtained a police report in that regard.”
On why her brother, who was married with a child, decided to move in with a lover, Chinyere, in the petition, explained that her brother’s ordeal began in 2018 after his involvement in a relationship with Ms Patricia Etu, who lived at No. 3, Adekoya Street, near Layeni Police Station, Ojo Road, Ajegunle, Lagos. The deceased, sometime in 2020, sold a family property with the said Patricia as his lawyer/agent, after which both of them allegedly disappeared to an undisclosed destination, till his demise.
“John Bosco got married in 2012 to his wife Ifeoma Geraldine Alexander and had a daughter, until his involvement with the said Ms. Patricia. He was a good husband who loved and cared for his family. He was a close confidant to his sister (our client) and a super father to his only daughter. Shortly after his disappearance with Ms. Patricia, he showed up in 2021 with a divorce proceeding against his wife, which proceeding is still pending in court,” the petition alleged.
On the stories behind the death of her brother, Chinyere claimed that she was initially told by Ms. Patricia that her brother developed breathing problems on his way back from work and was rushed to Tolu Medical Center, Ojo. The other story was contained in a purported police report alleging that the deceased, in the company of his girlfriend, Ms. Patricia, her younger brother and a convoy of cars, were going to Ms. Patricia family house in Ojo Area of Lagos State when they approached a fracas which caused the deceased a heart attack.”