Late Cynthia Osokogu’s parents, at the weekend, disclosed that her killers demanded a ransom of N20 million from the family. They also urged the youth to learn from her death.

The parents, retired army General Frank Osokogu and his wife, Joy, who were speaking out for the first time after their daughter’s death, added that the account number they were sent was “fake”.

“On Sunday, August 22, she called to tell me that she had arrived Lagos to collect some goods that had just arrived from overseas and promised to visit me immediately she arrived from Lagos,” said Mrs. Osokogu.

“That was the last I heard from her; later, when I kept calling her phone, some people picked it up and said we should send N20 million, but the account number they sent to me was fake. They told me they had killed her. It was after this that I declared her missing.”

But in spite of the gruesome death of her only daughter, Mrs. Osokogu said she bore no grudge against her killers because “vengeance is for God”.

Paying a tribute to her late daughter, she said, “you are too fast, little girl of 24, you have everything in life.”

“Daddy bought a new car for her when she graduated. She took part in Miss Nigeria 2010 and was one of the runners up. I said I want you to marry; she promised that she would bring her fiancée to me this month. I didn’t know she would die,’’ she added.

Before her death, Cynthia, 24, owned a boutique and was a post-graduate student of Nasarawa State University.

Cynthia’s killers, one of whom is an undergraduate she had met on the social media, were paraded by the state police command on Wednesday.

Cynthia was lured to Festac town hotel room, where she was allegedly raped and killed by two cousins, Nwabufor Okwumo and Ezekiel Odera.

“Risky and stupid”

Mr. Osokogu, however, appealed to the youths to desist from trusting people they meet on the social media, saying he would have discouraged his daughter from embarking on such an adventure.

“It’s too risky and stupid for somebody to travel and meet friends that he or she had not known because you have been chatting with them on social media network,’ he said.

“I strongly believe, that adventure is just too much and risky. You should know people before you begin to visit them. Every other person, especially students, have a big lesson to learn from Cynthia’s death. Even though I have lost my daughter, her death might be a lesson for other people.”

Mr. Osokogu described Cynthia as a properly trained child with a flair for business and fashion.

He added that Cynthia was self reliant and independent, and would be greatly missed by the family.

– Daily Times Nigeria