By Aliyu Abdulwahid
A Nigerian businessman, Oladapo Ogundipe, whose daughter, Alanis, died by suicide on May 29, 2023, in the United Kingdom has revealed that her corpse was cremated before a forensic autopsy could be conducted to unravel the cause of her death.
Alanis was said to have taken her life after being allegedly blackmailed by her boyfriend, Ryan Leggetts.
The 26-year-old accountant was said to have committed the act by jumping into a moving train at a station in Manchester, UK.
The deceased’s father, Oladapo, said the incident happened after Leggets allegedly broke into her phone, copied her documents and threatened to reveal her private information to the public.
Also, Ogundipe alleged that the lawyer representing his family, while acting on the instruction of his wife, Josephine, prevented him from questioning Ryan during a coroner’s inquest held this month.
Speaking on Monday, Ogundipe alleged that he was pressured by his wife, Josephine, to cremate Alanis’ corpse, stressing that it was done to cover up evidence around her demise.
“At the time I reported Alanis’ boyfriend (Ryan Legget) to the police on June 14, 2023, after finding out that Josephine had failed to report, I mentioned my concerns about Josephine and there is evidence of that discussion. At that stage, I indicated to the police officer that I was speaking confidentially.
“I later advised Josephine on June 29, 2023, that if I ever found out that she or any family member was obstructing the police investigation, I would find it suspicious. I gave the advice because she was acting suspiciously by putting pressure on me to allow Alanis’ body to be cremated before any criminal investigation and a forensic autopsy could be carried out. As soon as she received Alanis’ body, Josephine hurried to burn the body before any forensic postmortem could take place.”
“Initially they had conducted a basic autopsy on the body of Alanis which didn’t reveal anything suspicious. Where is Alanis grave? If there is no grave, what was the point in hurrying the cremation of her body before any forensic post-mortem could take place? Alanis mother’s reason for hurrying the cremation before any “forensic” autopsy could be carried out was so that “we have a duty to say goodbye to Alanis respectfully”. Was Alanis a child?”
Ogundipe added that the outcome of the coroner was what made become clear to him that it had been a conspiracy all the while.
The bereaved father also insisted that the emotional and psychological injury inflicted on his late daughter was part of what led to her demise.
Ogundipe also called on the UK police authorities to re-open the case, while demanding a thorough probe.
“I have made allegations of murder and manslaughter against Ryan because he inflicted emotional and psychological injury upon Alanis from August 1, 2022, when he allegedly infected Alanis with a virus until May 28, 2023, when he broke into her phone and stole her bank statements and sensitive information to blackmail her up until May 29, 2023, when he continued to blackmail her and until she yielded to his demands and Alanis eventually died.
“As this suggests a coordinated effort to manipulate and harm Alanis, ultimately leading to her tragic death, I call on the UK authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into these matters to ensure that justice is served for my daughter. If the police do not wish to investigate, then, a private legal team will take up the case since there is no time limit for prosecution of crimes such as murder and manslaughter.”
Calls made to Josephine’s phone number did not connect. A WhatsApp and text message sent to her had yet to be replied as of the time this report was filed.
