Tragedy struck in the Ajaokuta area of Kogi State on Friday after an officer of the Nigerian police shot dead his girlfriend before proceeding to take his own life.
The late officer, attached to the Ajaokuta Division in the Kogi State Police Command, was identified as Corporal Amos, while his girlfriend was identified as Woman Corporal Grace.
According to reports, Corporal Amos was on night duty and reportedly resumed duty at about 6pm before disappearing from his post a few hours later.
After abandoning his duty post, he was said to have resurfaced at Grace’s apartment, where he fatally shot her several times in different parts of the body before turning the weapon on himself and shooting at point-blank range.
While there is no official confirmation as to what motivated the action of Corporal Amos, a source familiar with the tragic incident claimed it was not unconnected to relationship troubles between the two officers.
The source disclosed that the officers had been dating for years but that their relationship came under strain in recent months amid trust issues and allegations of infidelity.
It was further alleged that their altercation had degenerated into physical confrontations and threats, forcing the divisional authorities to intervene at some point.
The source stated that the two officers were previously detained by the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), who allegedly advised them to end the relationship to prevent further conflict.
“He reported on duty at about 6pm and disappeared a few hours later and went straight to Grace’s quarters and murdered her before killing himself also.
“The two junior police officers had been dating for some years now, but a few months ago, they started having trust issues and cheating allegations. There had been physical fights and threats to the extent they were detained at some point by the DCO, who later advised them to end the love relationship for the sake of peace,” a source revealed.
“But yesterday, Corporal Amos decided to end it all by firing three straight bullets on Corporal Grace, one on her shoulder, the second on her lower abdomen and the last on her leg, before firing himself. May their souls rest in peace,” the source added.
Further details, including the official confirmation of the deaths, the recovery of the weapon and the circumstances under which the officer allegedly left his duty post, were not available at the time of filing this report.
The Kogi State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
