28th May, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Oladipo Ogundipe, the father of Alanis Ogundipe, who was reported to have died by suicide, by jumping into a moving train in Manchester, United Kingdom, has said there is more to her daughter’s death than suicide.
Ogundipe while addressing journalists in Lagos, Nigeria, expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation into his daughter’s death, which occurred one year ago in the United Kingdom.
The aggrieved father also accused her daughter’s boyfriend, Ryan, of blackmailing and emotionally traumatising her, calling on the Manchester Police to re-open investigation into her death.
According to Ogundipe, Ryan infected Alanis with Herpes, which she saw as a stigma and kept secret.
He revealed that her death was announced just when she was expecting to collect £102,000 and that her death was announced barely 24 hours after her boyfriend broke into her phone without her consent and stole her bank statement with other sensitive information.
The bereaved father who was overcome with emotion, broke down in tears as he addressed journalists. “This month marks a year since her death, and based on the evidence at hand, I have come to a distressing realization regarding the events leading to her passing.
“My daughter and her ex-boyfriend, Ryan, met in June 2022, and by the first week of August, he had given her herpes. My daughter was so ignorant that she thought she would not be able to meet anyone again due to the infection. Also, If they wanted to do anything together, he would loan her the money to make her do it. He would first tell her it was a gift and then tell her it was a loan.
“When Alanis was expecting to collect £102,000 in May 2023; her new salary of £2,000 was expected on the 28th May 2023, and an additional £100,000 on the 30th May 2023.
“Alanis’ passport was requested on May 26, 2023, for her to collect £100,000 I wanted to send to her which was meant for a particular investment in the UK. Both herself and her brother had also been notified on May 19, 2023 that they would be visiting Nigeria shortly.
“Ryan, who knew about these, broke into her phone without her consent and stole her bank statements and sensitive information whilst she was asleep at 10 am on May 28, 2023, in Manchester, with the intention of blackmailing Alanis and using the stolen information for other purposes.
“Then he woke her up, shouted at her violently, and kicked her out without her property and the passport she required to collect the money. Ryan admitted to me in writing on June 7, 2023 when I reached out to him after Alanis’ death.
“Alanis was frightened on May 28, 2023, and promptly reported the psychological attack to her mother Josephine Dillon.
“On May 29, 2023, Ryan continued the psychological assault on Alanis in the presence of Josephine using the information he had stolen from her phone until Alanis agreed to his demands.
“Around 9 pm, according to the officers who attended the scene, Ryan repeatedly rang Alanis’ phone. That was after Alanis had told him that she was “going to do it” and he had failed to stop her after failing to acknowledge the pain she cried out that she was feeling in her body.
“But he lied to the Police in his witness statement on August 15, 2023, after admitting to me and showing me evidence in writing on June 7, 2023, that he stole Alanis password and had blackmailed Alanis until she died on May 29, 2023.
“In the course of getting justice for my late daughter, a coroner’s inquest into the cause of her death came up this month, May 9, 2024. And this was the point it became clear to me that it had been a conspiracy all the while.
“At the inquest, the lawyer representing my family told the court not to allow me to present my evidence, which I was later allowed after insistence. The lawyer was also not in support of a question I planned to ask to prove that my late daughter’s ex-boyfriend, who was also in attendance, did not get the consent of my late daughter before breaking into her phone.
“Part of the questions included why he refused to tell the police the truth about his access to Alanis’ phone. I was vindicated by the outcome of the inquest.
“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 with the intention of blackmailing her up until May 29, 2023 when he continued to blackmail her and until she yielded to his demands and Alanis eventually died.
“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,” he concluded.