A catechist, Oliver Vershima of St. Martins Parish, Mbape in Adikpo Kwande, Benue state, is on the run, following the death of his lover.
The catechist was reportedly seen around 7pm on Sunday, June 4, 2023, trying to dispose of the lady’s corpse, suspected to have died from complicated abortion.
In an interview with journalists on Tuesday, a witness, Terhemba, said the suspect, kept the woman’s body inside his room after she died during attempt to terminate her pregnancy.
His words, “On questioning him, it was discovered that he (Oliver) had impregnated the lady and they tried to terminate the pregnancy but in the process, the lady lost her life early hours of the day.
“To conceal this, the catechist hid the dead body inside his room until nightfall so he could take the body out of the village and possibly run away.”
Terhemba added, “Unfortunately for him, he was caught while trying to carry the body out of the village but he later escaped in the melee,” Terhemba added.
Terhemba also said the identity of the lady was yet to be ascertained, as she was not from the community.
The Spokesperson for the State Police Command, SP, Catherine Anene, who confirmed the incident to Punch, said that the corpse of the lady had been deposited at the hospital morgue.
She stated, “Corpse of the said young girl who was said to have visited her man friend was recovered and taken to the mortuary after a report was received but the said Oliver is yet to be seen as he brought the corpse out of his room and ran away.”
The PPRO disclosed that the investigations is still ongoing.
