Aishat Noble-Mustapha, the 26-year-old lady that was stabbed to death on Saturday by a yet-to-be identified assailant, was her parents’ only child. Her guardian, Mr. Abubakar Haruna, said her parents, who live in the Etsako-West, Auchi area of Edo State, have been informed of the tragedy. It was reported that on Tuesday that the victim left her office at Silverbird Cinemas, Ikeja, for her residence in the Ogudu GRA, Lagos, when she was attacked. The victim was said to be stabbed many times, leading to her death.
Silverbird TV, in its report on Tuesday, said she struggled with her assailant before she was overpowered and murdered. She was described as a hard-working and cheerful worker who positively influenced the lives of the people around her. The police spokesperson, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, while reacting to the incident, had said the police arrested a suspect in connection with the crime. The suspect, a 21-year-old man, who lived in the same neighbourhood with Noble-Mustapha, was said to be assisting the police with useful information.
A source, who pleaded anonymity, said the suspect was caught with the victim’s phone and he could not give satisfactory explanation on how he came about it. He said:
“The boy was found with her phone. He kept the phone in his boxers and while people were looking for it, he didn’t say anything. When the phone was found on him, he still kept mute and refused to talk. He also denied being involved in the killing and said he met her in a pool of blood after she was stabbed and assisted her in keeping the phone.”
The phone was said to have been stained with blood. Another source said the expensive phone was just recently bought by the victim.
“It was bought about a week before the incident,” the source said.
Her guardian, Haruna, said the family was waiting for the coroner inquest to be done.
“It is very painful for us as a family. She was her parents’ only child. We have informed them,” he added.
He said the family would be leaving the police to conclude their investigations and hence might not want to say much. He promised to hold a press conference to announce the family’s position on the matter. Our correspondent gathered that the police were awaiting the result of an autopsy to ascertain if the deceased was pregnant. Meanwhile, it was gathered that investigation was ongoing at the State Criminal Investigation Department after the case was moved from the Ogudu division.