To avoid several deaths in his family, a man who reportedly murdered his girlfriend must marry the corpse of the deceased.
Saliu Ladayo, a man who reportedly stabbed his girlfriend, Confidence Nwanma, to death, has been required to marry the corpse according to family tradition.
The deceased was killed in Akure, Ondo State, during a confrontation with Ludayo, Punch News reports on Tuesday, May 22, 2018.
A refusal to fulfill obligations peculiar to the family of the deceased may result in harm for the relations of Saliu Ladayo who has been apprehended by the police.
“In our place, it is mandatory that the man must marry the corpse of our daughter. We must observe the custom by taking the corpse to our village where the marriage would take place.
“It is mandatory that he pays the dowry in double because he brought our daughter dead for marriage.
“He would observe all the dictates of the custom before our family would let him go. Without this, every young person from the family of the man will never get to the age of our daughter. They will die a sudden death just like our daughter.
”This is not our making; it is the way our ancestors put it down even before we were born.
"Our people all over the world are waiting for the court judgment. Whichever way it goes, the boy must perform the marital rite to our daughter’s corpse," Jude Nwanma, the father of the deceased told Punch.
Ludayo, who was paraded at the headquarters of the state police command is expected to be arraigned in court following a conclusion of investigation.
Femi Joseph, the Police Public Relations Officer of the command confirmed this in a report by Punch.