‘There’s more to her death’ — dad of UK-based Nigerian lady seeks justice

Oladapo Ogundipe, the father of Alanis, the UK-based Nigerian lady who committed suicide last year after being allegedly blackmailed by her boyfriend, has demanded justice.

Alanis reportedly jumped into a moving train at a station in Manchester, United Kingdom on May 29, 2023.

A year later, Ogundipe is expressing dissatisfaction with the investigation into his daughter’s death.

At a press briefing in Lagos on Monday, Alanis’ dad called on the police in Manchester to re-open an investigation into her death.

Ogundipe thinks that there is more to her death than suicide. He has also accused Ryan Leggetts, her boyfriend, of blackmailing and emotionally traumatising her. 

He claimed his daughter died after Leggetts blackmailed her with the “sensitive information” he found when he broke into her phone.

He also alleged that Leggetts refuted the allegations after admitting it in writing to him.

“My daughter and her ex-boyfriend, Ryan Leggetts, met in June 2022, and by the first week of August, he had given her herpes,” he said.

“My daughter was 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 so as 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 the 26th May 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 the 19th May 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 10am on the 28th May 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. This, Ryan admitted to me in writing on the 7th June 2023 when I reached out to me after Alanis’ death.

“Ryan Leggett lied to the police in his witness statement on the 15th August 2023 after admitting to me and showing me evidence in writing on the 7th June 2023 that he stole Alanis password and had blackmailed Alanis until she died on the 29th May 2023.

“Alanis was terribly frightened on the 28th May 2023 and promptly reported the psychological attack to her mother Josephine Dillon (also known as Josephine Ogundipe).

“On the 29th May 2023, Ryan Legget 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 9pm, according to the officers who attended the scene, Ryan repeatedly rang Alanis’ phone. Again, according to the officers who attended Alanis flat, Ryan repeatedly rang Josephines’ mobile number. 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.

“I later advised Josephine on the 29th of June 2023 that if I ever found out that she or any family member were obstructing the police investigation I would find it suspicious.

“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. 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, while acting on the instruction of my wife, Josephine, 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 Leggetts, 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 1st August 2022 when he allegedly infected Alanis with a virus until 28th May 2023 when he broke into her phone and stole her bank statements and sensitive information with the intention of blackmailing her up until the 29th May 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.”

Ogundipe requested a thorough investigation from the UK authorities to ensure justice for his daughter’s death. He also sought for the prosecution of Leggetts.

He added that if the UK police “do not wish to investigate then a private legal team will take up the case”.

“I call on the UK authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into these matters to ensure that justice is served for my daughter,” he said.

“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.”