Murder of Lagos bizwoman I acted under influence of mysterious force— Gateman

LAGOS—The 22-year-old gateman, Tanko, who allegedly murdered the General Manager of a bureau-de change company at her Victoria Garden City, Ajah, Lagos, apartment last month, said he acted under the influence of a mysterious force. The remains of the 50-year-old businesswoman, Mabel Okafor, were discovered in her sitting room two days after the act, by her church members. However, her gateman, who bolted, was arrested in Bali, Taraba State, with three phones belonging to the deceased and some of her personal effects. Tanko said: “I stabbed her four times on the stomach. We had no quarrel. She called me inside and instructed me to trim the flowers. Thereafter, I started playing with the knife. “Before I knew it, I was possessed by a mysterious force. Immediately, I stood up from my room and went straight to my madam’s sitting room. She thought I wanted to inform her that someone was looking for her. I stabbed her on the stomach. “She shouted for help and asked what she had done to deserve what I was doing. I did not respond, but continued to stab her until she fell at the fourth strike. “I removed the knife and cleaned the blood on her cloth before leaving the sitting room. As I stepped outside, the man at the boys quarter came out and asked why my madam was shouting, I told him it was because she saw some cockroaches and he went back to his apartment. “I later went inside and discovered she was dead. I collected the purse that was by her side and removed the N10,000 I found inside. I also collected her three phones and some of her clothes and went to sleep in my room. Next day, I travelled to my home town.” Tanko said he sold the phones for N20,000 each in Taraba State, but kept the clothes with the intention of giving them to his would-be wife. Arrest Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Mr Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the suspect at the command’s headquarters, Ikeja, yesterday, explained that the suspect was tracked to a hideout in Bali, Taraba State, where the deceased’s stolen items, which include three phones, trinkets and clothes, were recovered. During interrogation, Owoseni said that the suspect took detectives to a bush where he hid the knife he used to kill Okafor, adding that investigation showed that there was an accomplice in the murder saga and assured that he would be arrested