Phillip Onyia and Grace Akpa were scheduled to be wedded on the first Saturday of April, 2013. They started dating in 2009, the same year Onyia left the shores of Nigeria for further studies in the United Kingdom. Having gone through thick and thin together, they were supposed to conclude the dating stage of their relationship and proceed to matrimony.
The proposed marriage can, however, no longer hold. Grace, the wife-to-be is dead, from injuries she reportedly sustained in a knife attack by the man she loved. Reported to be a student of Adeniran Ogunsaya College of Education, Ijanikin, Lagos, she was only 26 years old.
Onyia, 32, allegedly stabbed the lady he had planned to marry because of an alleged romance with another man. Investigations revealed that throughout his stay in the United Kingdom, Onyia took charge not only of Grace’s upkeep but that of her siblings as well.
Grace never lacked any good thing of as Onyia never left anyone in doubt as to his seriousness to take Grace as his wife after his education. Things, however, started falling apart around August 2012. Onyia’s cousin, identified as Chidi, reportedly met Grace with another man at a popular beer parlor at Social Club Street, Abule Egba.
When asked who the man was, Grace reportedly denied being in any love relationship with the man, but claimed he was her senior in school. But Chidi remained unconvinced about Grace’s defence.
It was also reported that on two other separate occasions, Chidi caught Grace and the man arms in compromising situations at separate joints in Ogba area of Ikeja, Lagos State. On each occasion, Chidi called the attention of Onyia to the situation. But Onyia gave no attention to the reports he received from home about his fiancée’s alleged promiscuity.
Onyia finally returned to Nigeria in November 2012. Immediately he came back, he and Grace began intense plans for their wedding formalities. Their families met recently and fixed Saturday, April 6, 2013, for the traditional marriage somewhere in Obanliku Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
It was reported that when Onyia confronted Grace with the story of her other relationship, she bluntly denied, saying that Chidi never wanted Onyia to marry her from day one. But the truth was made open recently when Onyia reportedly caught his wife-to-be in a hotel somewhere around Abule Egba area.
On Sunday, February 3, 2013, Onyia and Grace were scheduled to meet at a beer joint around Fagba area in Iju, Lagos. Hours before the appointed time, Grace reportedly called Onyia that her mother sent her on an errand to one of her sisters at Ajegunle area of the metropolis.
She reportedly told her fiancé that she would be going to school the following Monday from Ajegunle. Onyia’s weekend was thus ‘shattered’ because he would not enjoy the company of his fiancée as planned. He resigned to fate and decided to remain indoors for the day.
That was around 4:00pm of that fateful day. But around 6:30pm, a friend of Onyia’s reportedly called on him and dragged him out to join him in watching a football match in the on-going African Cup of Nations tournament. Reluctantly, Onyia got up from his bed and followed the friend out. The two friends then headed for a hotel around Abule Egba area to watch the match.
After the football match, the two friends settled for drinks and midway into that, Grace emerged from one of the chalets at the hotel arms wrapped round the man she had been rumoured to be dating.
The stunned Onyia shouted his fiancee’s name and Grace was dead shocked to see Onyia there. On seeing Onyia coming her way, Grave reportedly broke loose from the man she was clinging unto and ran out of the hotel premises.
Onyia raced after Grace and traced her to her family home. Grace did not go home directly apparently sensing that Onyia would trace her there. Onyia did not meet her at home.
But on his way back home, he saw Grace at the bus stop close to her house. An enraged Onyia wasted no time. He reportedly grabbed the knife of a Suya seller close by and allegedly chased Grace around the neighbourhood with the knife. When he caught her eventually, Onyia reportedly stabbed her several times all over her body and fled the scene.
The bloodied Grace was rushed to a hospital somewhere at Agege area of the state. Investigations revealed that Grace died the second day from injuries she sustained from the multiple knife stabs. Onyia has since taken to his heels.
Speaking to reporters, Malam Shehu, whose knife was used to stab Grace, claimed that he prevented Onyia from carrying out the act but he (Malam Shuehu) sustained injuries in the process.
He says, “What I first noticed was that the man was beating the girl and we tried to separate them. Suddenly, the man grabbed my knife and ran towards the lady and stabbed her many times. We tried to get hold of the man but he threatened to stab whoever came his way.
That was how he ran away.” Mrs. Ojelere runs a hairdressing salon beside the spot where Onyia stabbed Grace. According to her, “I never knew that they were lovers. It was later that we heard that he caught the lady with another man in a hotel. At first, we thought the lady stole something from him because of the way he beat her. It is unfortunate that that lady died just like that.”
One of Grace’s relatives who identified himself as Paul Frank, a professional baker, is understandably aggrieved by the young women’s grim end. He says, “We shall get to the root of this matter. How come meeting your girl friend with another man would lead to killing her?” Efforts to get Onyia relatives to speak on the matter were futile as no one was ready to talk
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