Lessons from Cynthia’s Murder

The family and friends of Cynthia Osokogu wouldn’t forget the 22nd of July this year in a hurry. Perhaps that day would remain indelibly etched on their hearts. It was on that dreary Sunday two cousins snuffed life out of Cynthia. Cynthia was the daughter of one retired Major General Frank Nwafor Osokogu.

According to news reports, Cynthia had left Nassarawa state for Lagos state the day before she was murdered. She went on that trip in order to stock up her Nassarawa-based boutique. At the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Cynthia was welcomed by friends she’d met on Facebook. Then they lodged her at one hotel around FESTAC.

Poor trusting Cynthia! She hurried into danger like a lamb to the slaughter. It turned out that Cynthia’s hosts were hardened criminals who specialised in robbing innocent and unsuspecting women. They drugged her Ribena drink with Rohypnol, a powerful sedative. This they did in order to easily dispossess Cynthia of valuables such as money, international passport, shoes, and mobile phones. However, the drug seemed not to be very effective on the girl. The bastards therefore went angry and violent. They chained their victim, sealed her mouth with Sellotape, and beat her to death.

Meanwhile, Cynthia’s family had declared her missing. Distraught friends and concerned neighbours circulated news of her disappearance on Facebook, h

oping that someone would know her whereabouts. No one had an inkling that Cynthia had been gruesomely killed. Her corpse was eventually found in the mortuary at Isolo General Hospital.

When informed of the crime, detectives from Area E Command of the Nigerian Police commenced investigation immediately. Footage from the CCTV of the hotel where Cynthia had lodged helped the police identify the culprits. The suspects were eventually arrested. They have confessed to having committed the crime. They currently face trial in a Lagos court.

Cynthia, 24, was the only female child of her parents. She was a postgraduate student of Nassarawa State University. Until the time of her sad demise, Cynthia owned and managed a boutique in Nassarawa state. Reportedly, the Delta-state-born girl had promised her mom that she’d bring home her fiancé before the end of August. Sadly however, Cynthia didn’t live to see August.

Cynthia’s murder is a sad reminder for Internet users the need to use social networking sites (SNSs) with great caution. Granted, SNSs are a great place to socialise and catch fun. The services enable users to share interests, ideas, activities, and events; to upload and share photos; to upload or stream live videos; to create forum topics; to chat and play games; to meet up with new friends; and to find old ones. It’s always fun to be on SNSs such as Facebook, Twitter, G+, MySpace, LinkedIn, Netlog, Ning, Meetup. Trust me, there’s never a dull moment on SNSs.

However, SNSs aren’t always a safe place to be. The Internet is awash with criminal minds who seek whom to take advantage of. For instance, one online article cites one news programme which itself quoted one authority as saying that there were ‘as many as 50, 000 sexual predators online at any given moment’ as at January 2006. Because plenty people use SNSs, unscrupulous minds use these sites as a

n avenue to locate their targets. And sadly like Cynthia, many people have fallen under the sway of criminals on the Internet.

Not so long ago, the story of Funmi (not real name) made newspaper headlines. NDLEA officials had arrested Funmi at a post office. The parcel she’d come to collect contained an illegal drug. When interrogated, Funmi confessed that it was her Facebook friend who sent the parcel to her from the UK. The ‘friend’ wanted Funmi to deliver the parcel to someone she didn’t know.

You can stay out of trouble by avoiding the costly mistake Cynthia and Funmi made. Never arrange a rendezvous with someone you met on the Web. No matter how hard the stranger presses you to meet with them in person and one-to-one, always muster the courage to say no. In addition, never give out personal information such as home address, office address, school address, your location at a specific time, mobile number, e-mail address, BB pin to total strangers. Remember to always turn on your privacy controls, so that unauthorised persons won’t have access to your profile.

The shocking stats below underline the importance of not sharing personal information on SNSs.

‘In 82% of online sex crimes against minors, the offenders used the victim’s social networking site to gain information about the victim’s likes and dislikes’

‘65% of online sex offendors used the victim’s social networking site to gain home and school information about the victim’

‘26% of online sex offendors used the victim’s social networking site to gain information about the victim’s whereabouts at a specific time’

―Journal of Adolescent Health 47, 2010

Learn a valuable lesson from Cynthia’s death. The ‘friend’ you spend plenty of time chatting with may be a sexual predator hoping to molest you some day. Always remember never to sacrifice your personal safety on the altar of pleasure. Be wise. Don’t let your story become a lesson for others. ‘Shine’ your eyes.

Finally, I’m using this medium to condole with the family and friends of Cynthia Osokogu. I pray the God of all comfort will comfort them, offer them hope in their depths of despair, and give them the fortitude to bear the loss. May her gentle soul find eternal repose in Paradise.

Credit
Stats retrieved from http://internetsafety101.org/Predatorstatistics.htm