BY Favour Percy-Idubor/Benin
A 42-year-old commercial bus driver, Osabohien Ogieva has been arrested by the Edo State Police Command for allegedly beating his 32-year-old girlfriend to death.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Command, Eno Ikoedem, who disclosed this in Benin City, said the incident occurred at the Ikpe community in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the State.
She said: “On January 10, 2026, we received a report from the Ikpe community, that a lifeless body of a young woman was found along the road close to the river. So operatives of the Idogbo division quickly rushed to the scene and moved the body to the hospital.
“The lady was confirmed dead, and the body has been deposited at the mortuary.
“Immediately investigation commenced as to who the person is and how the body came to be at the place. It was revealed that the body is that of Joy Jerome, a 32-year-old resident of Upper Sakponba.
“Further investigation led to the arrest of one OsabohienOgieva, a 42-year-old minibus driver. It was revealed that he was in a romantic relationship with the deceased.
“On that fateful day, which was the 9th of January 2026, they had a “lovers’ quarrel”. The man picked her up in his bus and he was driving to his house. Then a quarrel ensued between both of them where he accused the woman of cheating on him, and that he had not seen her for two days.
“The woman replied that she was in her aunt’s place. That’s how they started arguing. He got so angry, parked the minibus by the roadside, came down from the vehicle, picked up a log of wood, just along the street and then hit her all over her body, including her neck, and then she fainted.
“He rushed her to the hospital when he realised that she was no longer breathing. In the hospital, the lady was confirmed dead on arrival. That was how he now drove to Ikpe community and dumped the body close to the river and absconded.”
The PPRO, who said the suspect has confessed to the crime, added that after dumping the lifeless body of the deceased by the riverside, the suspect called her family and told them that he had not seen his girlfriend for about two or three days.
She said the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.
