A tricycle rider, Peter Okon, alleged to have killed a female cross-gender chorister attached to St John’s Catholic Church in Iwofe, Obio/Akpor council of River State has denied responsibility for her death.
The Keke rider, who is in custody of the Police, spoke through his lawyer, Nyeche Amah. He said that he did not kill the lady, Emmanuelle Adaobi, whose real name was later revealed as Emmanuel Oliseh Ogaebulam.
He said: “I feel very disappointed with the information making the rounds that my client hit the transgender person. The name of the transgender is actually Emmanuel Oliseh Ogaebulam from Anambra State. What actually happened is that the transgender was a passenger to the Keke driver; he was in the same tricycle with the driver. While the Keke driver was driving, there was a little girl with a wheelbarrow trying to cross the road.
“In an attempt by my client to dodge the little girl carrying the wheelbarrow, the cross-gender person fell off the vehicle into the drainage. It would also interest you to know that the female cross-gender was not the only one in the tricycle. Unfortunately, the transgender was the only person who sustained injuries and later died.”
The lawyer said Mr. Okon did all he could to protect everybody in the tricycle but the cross-gender made an attempt to jump out and fell into the drainage.
“The Keke driver displayed the highest level of maturity by reporting himself to the Rumulomeni Police Station at Iwofe, when the incident occurred around Akar junction, Iwofe on night of January 31, 2023. The Keke driver is not actually detained but kept in protective custody so that he does not get hurt by persons sympathetic to the cross-gender, who may not have known what transpired”, he explained.
It was gathered that until her death, Emmauella who was a male, had posed as a female, unknow to friends and church members. It was gathered that the supposed lady had done her traditional marriage rites and was about to wed a man in the church before her death.
Also, a man captured in a viral photo with the lady, speculated to be her husband has denied being married to her. The man, however, explained that he went for a traditional marriage somewhere, when Emmanuella begged to snap with him.