A catechist from St. Martin’s Parish Mbape in Adikpo deanery, Kwande Local Government Area in Benue state, is on the run following the death of a young woman who was thought to be his lover.
The catechist, identified as Oliver Vershima, was apprehended while attempting to dispose of the woman’s body at 7 o’clock on Sunday, June 4, 2023.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, a resident of the area named Terhemba claimed that the suspect, Jov Mbahura, who was employed at St. Augustine Zone, had hidden the woman’s body inside his room after she had passed away during an attempt to terminate her pregnancy.
“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,” he explained.
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The catechist then kept the dead body hidden inside his room until dusk so that he might transfer the body outside the community and possibly run away.
“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 claimed that the woman’s identity had not yet been determined and that she was from a nearby community.
SP Catherine Anene, a spokesperson for the State Police Command, verified the occurrence to The Punch and stated that the woman’s body had been found and taken to the hospital mortuary.
“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 investigation, according to the PPRO, is still ongoing.
