A Nigerian businessman, Oladapo Ogundipe, has raised objections to the findings of a coroner’s investigation into his daughter’s suicide nearly a year after her death on May 29, 2023, in the United Kingdom. The tragic incident occurred when his 26-year-old daughter, Alanis, took her own life by jumping in front of a moving train at a station in Manchester, UK.

The grieving father believes that her actions were influenced by alleged blackmail from her boyfriend, Ryan Leggetts, who had gained access to her personal information and threatened to disclose it publicly.

Despite providing evidence to the authorities, Oladapo expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the case and claimed that he was initially prevented from presenting crucial evidence against Leggetts during the recent preliminary inquest in Bolton, Manchester.

He also accused the family lawyer, acting on instructions from his wife Josephine, of obstructing his efforts to provide testimony regarding the circumstances surrounding his daughter’s tragic demise.

He stated, “I am not satisfied with the outcome of the inquest. I was surprised on the second day of the hearing on the inquest into the death of my daughter which took place in Bolton on May 9, 2024, that the lawyer hired by Alanis’ mother told the court that the family were not in support of me giving evidence against the ex-boyfriend of my daughter, but the coroner overruled them and I was allowed to give evidence.”

Oladapo added that the lawyer also objected to a question he intended to ask, which aimed to show that Leggetts had accessed his late daughter’s phone without her consent.

Specifically, the question would have highlighted Leggetts’ alleged refusal to disclose the truth to the police about how he gained access to Alanis’ phone.

He stated, “The lawyer was also not in support of the question I had prepared for the Leggetts that would have revealed the fact that he did not have my daughter’s consent when he accessed her phone on May 28, 2023, a day before she killed herself.

The ex-boyfriend had lied to the police that my daughter was the one who gave him the password he used in gaining access to her phone on May 28, 2023, to copy her private and sensitive information. After breaking into my daughter’s phone on that day using the new password he had stolen, he subsequently lied to the police during the investigation that he entered using her old password. In addition to wanting to ask him why he lied to the police if he had consent, I was intending to ask him whether accessing someone’s phone in the manner which he did would not have a psychological effect on the owner of the phone.”

Oladapo asserted that, as an interested party in the inquest with the right to pose questions, he was unfairly restricted from fully participating in the process and contributing to the coroner’s investigation, despite his legitimate stake in the proceedings.

“Part of the rights of Interested Persons at an inquest include questioning witnesses. These are significant rights conferred on them to participate fully in the process and to assist the coroner’s inquiry.”

“The mother of Alanis asked questions of the witnesses through her legal representative but I was deprived of my right as an interested person being the father of Alanis who is the subject of the inquest, to question a witness (the ex-boyfriend).”

According to the coroner’s inquest report, which our correspondent has obtained, the cause of Alanis’ death was determined to be suicide, with financial struggles cited as the underlying reason.

The report read, “Miss Alanis Yinka-Seydell Olushola Ogundipe died by suicide at Eccles Railway Station on May 29, 2023, aged 26 years; Miss Ogundipe deliberately placed herself in the path of a train that was travelling through the railway station at high speed with the intention and effect of ending her life.

“There was no opportunity for the train driver to prevent the collision between the train and Miss Ogundipe. Miss Ogundipe acted in circumstances where she was experiencing significant short-term financial difficulties and the possible breakdown of a long-term relationship in which her partner had been loving and supportive towards her.”

Oladapo disputed the claim that his daughter Alanis died by suicide due to financial difficulties, stating that she had access to sufficient funds.

He pointed out that Ryan,” was the one emphasising financial difficulties while Josephine never told me about Alanis’s mental health until she died”. Oladapo expressed skepticism, noting that Alanis was expecting a large sum of money (£100,000) from him and had recently received £107,000 in her account, with £108,000 spent during the same period.

He also mentioned that she had no bad credit, received £4,000 from her aunt, and had recently gone on a holiday to Italy. Oladapo questioned how she could have been experiencing financial difficulties given these circumstances and also wondered why Ryan would end their relationship after asking for money if he truly cared for her.