Man strangles girlfriend over N50,000 debt

A 27-year-old man, Joseph Fekala, has gruesomely murdered his girlfriend, one Kate Ogwoh, 26, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state over a N50,000 debt he was owing her for clothes she sold to him.

Fekala, said to be a youth pastor in a Pentecostal Church in Yenagoa, allegedly strangled Kate to death after which he buried her in a shallow grave in his bedroom.

The incident occurred at the Okaka suburb of Yenagoa metropolis on Friday.

It was learnt the suspect, who has been arrested by the police, allegedly killed Kate over a N50, 000 debt he was owing for clothes she sold to him.

A source, who craved anonymity, said the deceased was a dealer in clothes.

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The source said: “She used to sell clothes. The suspect owed her N50, 000 and she went to get the money from him yesterday (Thursday).

“No one heard from her until this Friday morning when her mother went looking for her at the man’s house and saw the shallow grave, that’s when she raised the alarm.

“Until her death, she was a member of Christ Embassy Church in Yenagoa while Joseph was a youth pastor in a Pentecostal Church. He isn’t a ‘Yahoo boy’ as speculated in some quarters.”

The state’s Police spokesman SP Asinim Butswat confirmed the incident.

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Butswat said: “Joseph Fekala, 27 years, of Ikebiri community, but residing at Okaka, strangled one Kate Ogwoh, female, 26 years to death on July 28, 2022.

“He buried the deceased in a shallow grave in his bedroom. The suspect was arrested following a tip off by neighbours on July 29, 2022, at about 0800 hours.

He is being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID). Investigation is on-going.”