THE sight, last week, was extremely gory. An unidentified young woman lay on the DLA Road in Asaba, Delta State, completely cold. Passers-by took pictures of the sad sight and uploaded them on the internet. The police spokesperson in Delta, Bright Edafe, in a statement in Asaba, the state capital, would later reveal that the corpse, which had since been removed by the police, was that of Precious Yusuf, a 23-year-old woman. The chilling story: “On the 24th of October 2024 at about 0840 hours, the DPO ‘A’ Division Asaba received a distress call that the corpse of a young lady was found at DLA Road, opposite Falcon Club. The DPO, CSP Rex Abiodun, swiftly mobilised and led police operatives of the division to the scene where the corpse of the lady was found. Preliminary investigation later revealed that on 22nd October 2024, the late Miss Precious told her friend that she was going to see a male friend she met on a dating website. She left the house on 22nd October to see the young man at Coka, and on the 23rd at about 0730 hours, she called her friend that she was on her way home, and that was the last time they heard from her.”
The police image-maker added that the corpse had since been deposited at the mortuary, awaiting autopsy. He said that the state Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, had assured the public, particularly the family of the late Precious, of justice in the matter. He then conveyed the commissioner’s warning to young women: “The Commissioner of Police wishes to advise young ladies to be mindful of the friends they hang out with and to exercise caution, particularly when dealing with people they meet on social media platforms.”
To say the very least, it is disturbing that the general climate of insecurity across the country continues to throw up casualties while officialdom sticks to its accustomed, sickening rhetoric. Beyond that, it is rather unfortunate that time and again, Nigerian youth, especially young women, virtually throw their lives away. Acting as if they are blissfully unaware of the danger they are literally throwing themselves into, they strike up romantic dalliances with people they barely know, carrying on as willing fodder and daring the consequences. In the name of “catching fun” or “catching cruise,” Nigeria’s young people leave sensitive information about themselves on social media which criminally minded individuals could use to their own advantage. They also actively pursue online romance that has no reality check in consistent physical communication, trusting total strangers to behave well, be civil, and be “fun” inevitably. In the instant case, it is apposite to ask what precisely the deceased knew about the man she had reportedly met on a dating site, and how long they had been dating, assuming that they had such a relationship. These are not trivial questions, particularly in view of the sad stories of murder that are regularly reported in the country following visits by young ladies to certain men they met online.
A case in point is that of Awesu Mojisola, who was allegedly murdered by one Adebayo Happiness inside a room in Whitefield Hotel, Ilorin, Kwara State, on August 10 after attending a botched post-graduation party in the city. The victim, a 21-year-old final-year student of the Kwara State College of Health Technology whose corpse was discovered at a refuse dump, had just celebrated the completion of her course three weeks before the sad incident and splashed photos of the joyous event on social media platforms. According to the police, “upon her arrival in Ilorin, Miss Mojisola informed her roommate that she felt uncomfortable in the hotel she was lodged by Adebayo Happiness and noted that there was no party at the said location. Shortly after this communication, her phone was switched off and all subsequent efforts by Miss Blessing to reach her were unsuccessful.”
The fact, quite simply, is that transactional sex is on the rise, and the youth are becoming too lax and unreflective while on their increasingly daring pleasure trips. It requires no spiritual binoculars to see that many of the people pretending to be “single and searching” on dating sites are actually criminals hunting for prey. Only recently, a young lady was seen in a viral video undressed and tied to a chair in a room at a hotel in Abuja. Her would-be tormentor, one Joseph Efe, 30, had met her on a “hookup site” prior to the dastardly encounter. Said the victim: “When I got to the hotel, the suspect asked me if I was afraid of death. He said if I cooperated with him, he would not hurt me like other girls. He said his friend was outside and if I made any wrong move—he injected me with something. I pleaded with him, he slapped me and asked me to strip. I tried to get to the door but it was locked and he held the keys.”
Who killed Precious Yusuf? The police must solve that puzzle for Nigerians. Who was the man she went to meet? And what did a search on her phone, assuming that it is in the custody of the police, reveal? Regardless of the fact that she may have made poor choices, she was a victim of murder, and the perpetrators deserve the death sentence. Fortunately, the deceased left digital traces, and those traces could be the key to unlocking the mystery surrounding her death. Without prejudice to their constitutionally guaranteed right to private life, Nigeria’s young and daring fun lovers must ask themselves if the risk they take following online interactions is actually worth it. They should be extremely circumspect in entering into relationships, and should take ample time to know the people they are relating with. Not doing so can be extremely dangerous, as the current story, which may yet throw up terrible details hitherto not contemplated, illustrates. On their part, parents have a bounden duty to warn their children to be wary of strange dalliances. The streets, it seems, are not smiling, and anyone who entrusts his/her life to total strangers as it were may just have signed their death certificate. This is a sad prognosis, but it is true nonetheless.
READ ALSO: Ondo guber: We’ll be transparent in distribution, inspection of sensitive materials — INEC
