From Molly Kilete, Abuja
A 26-year-old woman, Jennifer Tsembe, is now cooling off in police cell after she allegedly masterminded, kidnapped and killed her boyfriend’s baby mama.
The suspect, a native of Benue State, who claimed to be a graduate of mass communication from the Benue State University and works in a private firm, was said to have lured the deceased to her home at Maitama with a promise to give her a mobile phone as a gift. Before putting the call to the deceased who was a National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) member serving in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Jenifer had hired the services of three men namely Monday Simon, Solomon Abu and one Jalil, to help her carry out the brutal act.
To ensure the deceased, Terunga Stephenie, does not come out alive, Jennifer, bought a jerrycan of acid.
Not knowing that day was going to be her last day on earth, Stephanie left for her primary place of assignment with her baby and headed for Jennifer’s house after the close of work.
On getting to the address of the house located at Oguta Lake Maitama, she stopped, came down with her baby and was ushered into the compound by a young man who ushered her into Jennifer’s room, where Jennifer and her gang members were already waiting for her.
Upon entering the room, she was first stripped of her baby by the two guys who later tied her hands, mouth and legs before taking her into another room.
While all these were going on, her innocent baby who could not talk just watched as they were brutalizing his mum who cried for help that fell on deaf ears.
Jennifer, who had been nursing grudges against Stephanie for dating her ex-boyfriend and having a baby for him, had told her gang members of how the deceased snatched her boyfriend who has now abandoned her and that she was doing what she did to get money from her boyfriend as ransom to rescue Stephanie and his son.
She also promised Monday Simon, Solomon Abu and Jaril, the sum of N100,000, at the end of the deal.
So after they tied her and kept her in one of the rooms in the main house, they left while Jennifer got into the room and began to torture Stephanie, using the acid she had bought until she died.
After Stephanie died, she called Solomon to rush to her house and on getting there, what Solomon saw shocked him to the marrow.
He saw the lifeless body of Stephanie, bathed with acid and he asked Jennifer why she killed the woman.
She cried and pleaded that he help her cover the secret which he agreed. She called a commercial cab driver who came over and they took the body into the car and dumped it around the popular minister’s hill area of Abuja in the middle of the night before they went their separate ways.
Jennifer did not stop there, to cover up her tracks, she took Stephanie’s baby to the Holy Rosary Catholic Church Maitama, and dumped him there.
The security man on sighting the baby, alerted the church authorities who took care of the child and reported the matter to the police.
By morning Stephanie’s lifeless body was discovered by passersby who alerted the police who came and took the body and immediately contacted the authorities of the NYSC, since the deceased was dressed in her NYSC uniform.
The police immediately swung into action using the call logs on the deceased mobile phone to find out who her last callers were.
Firstly, detectives arrested the boyfriend of Stephanie who she was staying with at Lokogoma, some of her friends and relatives.
But as God would have it, they were able to track a particular call that broke the camel’s back that led to the arrest of Stephanie and two of her accomplices.
In this interview, Jennifer, who is pretending to be unstable, denied killing her boyfriend’s baby mama. However, the story is not so with her accomplices who said they were deceived into believing that the whole idea was to get money from her boyfriend and not to kill Stephanie.
Solomon Abu tells his story:
“My name is Solomon Abu, I am 34 years old. I am from Niger State and graduate of biology from Niger State College of Education. I did Biology/ Primary Education Studies. I am working.
“On my involvement with the late NYSC member was that I was commanded by Jenifer here who happens to be my colleague in the office because I never knew the girl before. We work at Liverton Nigeria limited.
“So along the line, she brought the issue of a girl that gave birth to her rich boyfriend. She said her rich guy, a girl had a child for him and that she wants to retrieve her man back. So, she now masterminded the plan and along the line she got the girls phone number and she was chatting with the girl and promised to give her a mobile phone. That was how she was able to lure the girl and the girl came looking for her. She then called me that she has asked the girl to come over and that I should come to her house to help her open the gate of the house where she stays at Maitama. I asked her how she intends to achieve this and she said two other guys would be around to scare the girl so that she won’t be able to make noise.
“I initially I didn’t want to go, but I don’t know what happened I found myself in her house and I met the two guys she told me about, by that time the deceased had not arrived. Few minutes after I got there, the girl arrived, she came with a child and I now opened the gate she entered and I took her to Jennifer’s room. Then one of the guys, Jarule, tied her up and took her to a duplex in the same compound. That was where they kept her and I now left and never returned to that house again.”
Another suspect, Monday Simon, also told of how he was hired by Jennifer and another accomplice who is now on the run:
“My name is Monday Simon, I am from Bauchi State. I am 35 years old. I work in the garage. I got to know Jennifer because we live in the same area in Maitama and she used to come and buy something from one of the shops that I used to go and relax. So one day, she told me that there is one girl that wants to collect her boyfriend and that she doesn’t know how she wants to put it. So, I now said I don’t know how you want me to come in and she said that she wants to use the girl to get money from her guy. So she made all the arrangements with me and one other guy and this her colleague.
“So, when the girl came, they opened the gate she now entered and when she entered her room, me and Jalil we now tied her. She came with her child we took the child and the child was just watching us he did not cry, they just held the child.
“Me and my colleague who has ran away, I tied her hands and her mouth and her legs, then I left. When we were tying her, she said who send us, we said that they just send us to tie you and that is what we are doing. After I left, Jennifer called me the next evening and I told her to just allow the lady to go, but she refused. She promised to give us N100,000 each if she collects the money from her boyfriend. So that is all, I didn’t even know that this thing is going to be like this because I have not done this kind of thing in my life. I regret knowing Jennifer.
“On how I was arrested, one day her junior brother came to our side, I now told him that I heard Jennifer has been arrested. As for me I never had the intention of running away because I know that I have made a very big mistake that even if I run I will not have peace. So, on the fifth day, the police came and arrested me and took me to Maitama police station. When I got there, I just told them the truth about what happened. That is all. I am very sorry for this and I know God will forgive me.
“I am saying the truth and Jennifer is hearing me. I don’t know anything about that girl, she is the one that called me into this.
“On how we disposed the body, it was me and Jennifer that dropped the body around that Maitama police station side. I want to tell you that I don’t know how she was killed because I left her alive in the room. After she died, Jennifer called me that I should come and I asked her what happened? She just said I should come. Even from her voice, I knew something terrible had happened, but I couldn’t figure out what and I was about going to somewhere, but I had to go to her place. So, as I got there, I was shocked when I saw the deadbody of the lady and I asked what happened because it was like they poured her acid all over her body, I was very shocked because that was not the plan.
“The plan was that you were going to get someone get something from her boyfriend, so what happened? I was very angry and she was crying that it is the devil and that it was a mistake. So she now said I should help her cover the secret that I should not let anybody know about it. Later on, she called one guy and the guy I don’t know how and he brought a vehicle to her and we now carried the body into the car and dumped it at Maitama, near the Minister Hill side. That was in the night and after that I went my way.
And as for the child I left the child with Jennifer because after that I don’t know anything that happened again. I was feeling very bad, I don’t even know why I put myself in this kind of evil act because I have never done this kind of thing in my life.”