Juliet Ochime, 28, based in United Estate, Sangotedo, Lekki, reportedly died following a beating she received from some neighbours who accused her of breaking the windshield of a car. However, members of her family are not taking it lying low, citing rape and other physical abuses before she was left to die, as they call for arrests, prosecution and for their lost daughter. Udeh Onyebuchi reports.
The narrow, dusty stretch of New House Street in United Estate, Sangotedo, Ajah, appears quiet, almost too quiet. Rows of uncompleted structures line the deserted path, some occupied silently by squatters, others left abandoned to the elements. It was here, in one of the unfinished houses overlooking Mopo Road, before a Celestial Church, that 28-year-old Juliet Ochime was allegedly beaten, restrained, and ultimately left to die.
Juliet, a fashion designer from Ohuye Village in Itakpa-Ito, Obi Local Government Area of Benue State, had lived in Lagos for years, far from family but close enough to survive through petty tailoring jobs and relationships within the estate community. Her mother had not seen her for nearly five years. Her siblings only knew she stayed “somewhere in Ajah,” unaware that she lived just a short distance from her elder brother who is a mechanic at the front of Eti-osa Local Government office in Igbo-Efon, Lekki.
Now, they are united again not in reunion or celebration but in mourning.
“They just called me and said my sister gave up,” the brother, Joe Ochime said.
The younger Ochime narrated how he received the news of his elder sister’s death early Monday morning at about 6:00 a.m., through a phone call from a neighbour in the estate.
“On Monday, October 4, my sister’s neighbour called to inform me about an incident that happened the previous day, Sunday, October 3, around 1 p.m. She said my sister had an altercation with some people. This neighbour is someone I usually call whenever I could not reach my sister,” he said.
According to him, “What the neighbour told me, and what I later heard from others, is that my sister broke the windshield of someone’s Toyota Corolla after having an issue with a man called Kingsley. The man reportedly called three people who took her to an uncompleted building where she was tied up and beaten. I also learnt they raped her before she died.”
When Joe received the call, he took a motorcycle and rode all the way from Festac to Ajah. But by the time he arrived at United Estate, Juliet was no longer alive. He branched at Ogombo Police station as the neighbour advised. “On my way to United Estate, the woman called again, advising me to go to the police before entering the estate, the neighbour told me to stop by the police station so that the suspects would not flee. So I went to Ogombo Police Station, where three police officers followed me to the scene.
“I saw my sister’s lifeless body lying on the ground. She gave up at the early hours of Monday. When we asked for the owner of the car whose windshield she allegedly broke, we were told he had fled. The police arrested his wife, his brother, and the security man.”
He added that he was later informed that the men who attacked her were residents of the estate, not outsiders.
Juliet’s body lay in an uncompleted building, motionless, partially wrapped in a curtain, bruises visible all over her skin, clear signs scuffles, struggle and pain.
“They carried her to a building and tied her. They beat her. They raped her. That is what they told me,” Joe said.
The deceased remains were taken to Ogombo Police Station, and from there, the family deposit her body at Mosunmola Ajayi Private Morgue at Thomas Village Estate, Ajah, Eti-Osa, Lagos.
The family, however, is still awaiting official confirmation through police investigation and autopsy.
Left to die
Eyewitnesses told The Nation that Juliet was still alive after the beating. “She was shouting for help, and that was how some neighbours realised people were beating her in another house. Those who heard her cries alerted the Chief Security Officer of the estate, who came to the scene. They untied her and even started recording videos of her while she lay motionless on the ground,” the witness narrated.
According to Joe, “They said she was breathing, but they did not take her to hospital. They said she was sleeping. She will wake up. She might have survived if they had offered help.”
Mortuary costs
Juliet’s body was transported the following day to Mosunmola Ajayi Private Morgue, located at 16 Modupe Young Street, Thomas Village, Eti-Osa. There, the family paid ₦150,000 for deposit, with an additional ₦5,000 charged daily for preservation.
According to her elder brother Uche Friday, “We are spending from our own pockets. Nobody is supporting us. The government will not help us. We just want justice.”
The police later directed that Juliet’s remains be transferred to a general hospital for autopsy. The family is still waiting not just for results, but for clarity.
United Estate responded
United Estate Executive Security officer, Mr. Uche Nelson, confirmed the incident but presented a differing account.
“The lady Juliet is known to be unstable, a drug addict. But that does not justify people taking laws into their hands.”
According to Nelson, “She broke a vehicle windshield. In the process, the vehicle owner’s wife, his brother and a security man started beating her. Unfortunately, that assault led to her death. The rape allegation is a second version we cannot confirm yet.”
He added that the unfinished building is where Juliet and a few others were staying.
“She stayed in the uncompleted building with a few other miscreants,” he said.
He further stated that they had summoned the landlord of the house where the two brothers reside, but he is yet to respond.
“We wanted to hear his version of the incident as well, since he is the landlord to both of them,” he said.
Police response
The police operatives visited the scene shortly after the incident and arrested three suspects, including the man’s wife.
Spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the incident, noting that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, for further investigation.
She said, “Three suspects, including two females and one male, have been arrested in connection with the incident. The case, along with the suspects, has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti for further investigation.”
A cry for justice
Contrary to the police’s statement that the suspects have been arrested, late Ochime’s relatives say they are still being seen walking freely around the estate, expressing fears that the case may be buried.
They are therefore calling on Nigerians to amplify Juliet’s story.
“This pain is too much. We want justice. Let those who did this face the law. Nobody has the right to take another’s life,” Joe said.
Unanswered questions
Was Juliet beaten to death, or did drug intoxication play a role? Was she sexually assaulted as alleged? And why has the key suspects not been fully tracked down? Until autopsy results are released and suspects are prosecuted, Juliet’s final hours remain clouded in pain, fear, and unanswered questions.