Man collapses, dies after finding rival in lover’s apartment

A 48-year-old mother of six, Mrs Ebere Dike has been arrested for the death of her lover, Mr Otti-Oriekpa Mike, at the Morogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

The deceased, a businessman, was said to have died in Dike’s apartment, after he met another man, identified as Samuel, in the apartment he rented for Dike. The incident was said to have occurred at the weekend.

It was learnt that when Mike saw Samuel in the apartment, an argument ensued, during which he was said to have angrily left the apartment.

Confusion, however, sets in after discovery of his lifeless body by the side of his vehicle, which was parked down stairs.

When Policemen from Morogbo Police Station were contacted, they went to the scene and arrested Dike. She was later transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Panti, Yaba.

A relative of the deceased, who gave his name simply as Imokwe, said: “My late brother was not living with the woman. She only had a baby girl for him and had five children with her former husband. On that fateful day, he visited her without prior notice, only to find another man with her.”

Dike, had, however, denied that Mike was attacked and killed as was being alleged and suspected by the police. She explained that Mike slumped during an argument with his alleged rival.

Dike said: “Mike accused me of cheating on him when he saw Samuel, my business partner, with me. He got angry and walked out of the apartment. When he got down stairs, he kicked started his car, but it didn’t respond. Samuel also became angry with me and walked out of the room. On getting downstairs, he met Mike still battling to fix his car. They started quarreling and in the process, Mike slumped on the spot. Nobody fought with him.”

It was gathered that in her earlier statement at Morogbo Police Station, Dike refused to mention Samuel’s surname, until she got to SCIID.

As at the time of writing this report, Samuel's whereabouts is unknown. His phone line had been switched off. The case was further complicated when Dike denied knowing where Samuel resides. Autopsy was carried out on the deceased. The result showed that Mike was hypertensive and died of cardiac arrest. There were no marks of violence on his body.

As at Wednesday, the case had been sent to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for advice.