Nigerian music video director, filmmaker and cinematographer Clarence Peters has been granted an administrative bail following his arrest on May 4 over the death of a vixen at his Lagos residence.
Peters was granted bail alongside four other suspects as police seek answers into the electrocution of vixen Love Divine Ike alias Picture Kodak on Wednesday, April 29, at an apartment complex that also houses Capital Dreams Pictures, a production powerhouse that he owns.
According to Nigerian media, the five were arrested after a public outcry over the lacklustre manner in which police took up the matter with earlier reports suggesting she was electrocuted while charging her phone.
In a statement, however, Peters denied being arrested and stated that he presented himself to Lagos police.
“Please note that no one has been charged or arrested, by the police. The witnesses and I willingly made ourselves available to the police and we have all pledged our full co-operation, through every part of this process. I will be helping out in every possible capacity,” read the statement in part.
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Speaking to This Day Live, however, the spokesperson of the state police Bala Elkana outlined that Peters is under investigation and facing a murder charge.
“We are investigating the circumstances that led to her death; so, definitely, there are questions investigators will need to find out and he is one of those that need to answer some of those questions; that is why he has been invited and some few others who were there,’’ said Elkana.
Elkana noted that an autopsy on the body of the vixen who worked with Banky W, Wizkid, Olamide, and Burna Boy among other Nigerian bigshots will proof if she was actually electrocuted.
“It is a full-fledged investigation. It is a murder charge. We are probably looking at murder. We are not concluding at this stage. If she died of electrocution according to reports, it is left for us to find out. Was she actually electrocuted? What went wrong? An autopsy will also show,’’ he added.
In a lengthy Instagram post documenting events of the fateful April 29 date, Peters stated that he was not in the apartment where she was allegedly electrocuted.
“At about 7:30 pm on the same day, while in another office – a building besides the dance studio, on the same premises, some people who were said to be with Love Divine at the time, rushed in and called my attention to the fact that Love Divine had collapsed. We immediately rushed her to the nearest hospital, which refused to let us into their premises, let alone admit her,” stated Peters.
The filmmaker who directed 40 episodes of the TV series Everyday People and shot the music video for Shuga’s theme song narrated that medics denied them admission thinking she was a coronavirus patient.
“They assumed she was a Covid-19 patient. We tried, but we were not able to gain entry into a second hospital. We eventually got her to a third hospital where she was pronounced dead 30 minutes after arrival. I was not physically in the same room with her when the incident occurred, and when I inquired, I was told by those present at the scene that Love Divine, while taking a break from the dance session, was sitting on one of the metal sliding door rails, charging and using her phone plugged to an extension box,” he went on.
The producer added: “The witnesses didn’t realize anything was wrong until they saw down, and they noticed smoke coming from her chest area. She was said to have been electrocuted, her phone was found on her chest, with severe burn marks, and the phone’s imprint on her chest. The witnesses were taken to the Ojodu Police Headquarters straight from the hospital where statements were taken and the phone (which had traces of burnt flesh on it) was deposited.”
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Pleading for “a lot of patience and goodwill from the general public”, he noted that he is hurt and deeply saddened by her tragic passing.
“Love Divine and the entire West Life Crew was a huge part of Capital Dreams Pictures, and losing her hurts us all deeply. She was an exemplary person and a legend in her own rights. We will miss her very much. Words will never be enough to describe what her family is going through in these things trying times. My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I ask God to grant them all the strength & fortitude at this time. This is a truly difficult time for us all, and we’re asking for a lot of patience and goodwill from the general public, in these difficult times,” he wrote.
