Man Arrested After A Lady He Picked Up On The Road Dies In His Apartment; Says He Will Never Help People Again

Richard Utubor, the 35-year-old man arrested by the Lagos police after a lady he picked up from the road died in his apartment, has said he would never assist people again.

Utubor, an indigene of Igueben, Edo State, was arrested in the Baruwa Estate, Ipaja area of Lagos State, on Saturday after taking the victim home on Friday. PUNCH Metro had reported that the suspect had taken the deceased home after she asked him for financial help.

A police source had told Punch that the duo was making love, when the victim died. A neighbour was said to have alerted the police and Utubor was subsequently arrested. Utubor, who had been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, denied having intercourse with the victim.

He said, “I was at School bus stop, Abesan Estate, around 10.30pm when the woman, who was about 40 years old, asked me for financial help. She asked for N200. “I told her I had only N50 on me. She knelt down begging me to assist her, and saying she would follow me to wherever I was going, just to collect the money. “At that point, I agreed to assist her with the N200 she wanted. She followed me to my house, which was not far from the bus stop. When I got home, I opened the door, while she stood outside.

“Just as I was about to enter, she complained of a headache. Before I came out from the room with the N200, she had slumped and I immediately called my younger brother and neighbours to assist me. Before I knew it, she was dead.”

Utubor said he regretted taking the victim to his apartment, adding that he did it in good faith because he had a “giving spirit.”

The Ordinary National Diploma graduate of Public Administration swore that if he got out of the trouble, he would never render assistance to people again. He said, “I just rented a room and parlour apartment on David Ogunsanya Street because I will be getting married in December this year. I did my traditional wedding during the Easter celebration. “I did not have sex with her. I did not even give her water or food. If God gets me out of this, I will not help people again in my life.”

He said when he picked the victim from the road, she did not have any means of identification on her and that she only wore her clothes and a pair of slippers. Utubor, who is the eldest in a family of five children, said he did not bother to ask for her name because he had no ulterior motive.

“She had no phone, handbag or anything to indicate her identity except a rapper and the dress she had on her. What I just noticed was that immediately she slumped, she was foaming in the mouth. “I did not take her home to sleep with her. That was why I did not bother to ask for her name or where she was coming from or going to,” he added.

A police source, however, said when Utubor was arrested, he was half naked.