…Cries out as family of Shimite alleges foul play
David Favour Love, husband to the late Shimite Winifred Love, Special Adviser to the Delta State Governor on Trade and Export, has presented autopsy results debunking allegations of domestic violence and killing his wife through poisoning.
Love, while briefing the media in Abuja presented an autopsy report from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, stating the causes of death to be Acute Left Ventricular Failure, Hypertensive Heart Disease and aspiration pneumonitis.
This is even as reactions from the family of the deceased continue to allege that the late Shimite Love died under mysterious circumstances while accusing the husband/widower of locking her up and denying her access to medical care.
BusinessDay recalls On Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, the news of the tragic death of Shimite Bello, shook the Delta community and Nigeria as allegations of domestic violence, poisoning trended on various blogs.
However, Love, while briefing the media in Abuja on Saturday, September 6, 2025, presented a Marriage Certificate, from the Ministry of Interior, stating he legally married his wife, the late Shimite Winifred Love on January 18th 2024, whom he had known for over two decades.
Love, in what he described as setting the records straight, firmly declared his innocence, citing medical reports, professional police investigations, and years of marital history as proof against the allegations surrounding him.
Speaking emotionally, he recalled his more than two-decades-long relationship with Shimite, which blossomed from friendship into marriage sealed by both court and traditional rites.
“We were best friends, partners, and legally wedded,” he said, noting that their union was witnessed and sanctioned by her immediate younger brother.
He explained that Shimite had become estranged from parts of her extended family following long-standing disputes with her stepbrother over property inheritance and marital choices. “She had the right to live her life as she chose, and she chose to live it with me,” he stressed.
According to him, the late Mrs. Love battled enormous workplace pressures that affected her psychological and physical wellbeing, stating that despite her health concerns, she remained committed to her work, even personally financing a major summit before her sudden demise.
On spiritual and emotional struggles, he said the couple had sought prayers and guidance from several clergy over the years, but none were available during the final crisis leading to her passing.
Turning to the role of law enforcement, he commended officers of the Delta State Police Command for handling the initial investigations professionally.
However, he accused the Monitoring Unit of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of “compromise and unprofessional conduct,” alleging they unlawfully released his late wife’s corpse and have withheld her mobile phone, despite requests for its release.
He further alleged that certain neighbors, connived to deprive him of access to his matrimonial home and belongings after his wife’s death.
“These actions, supported by compromised elements within the Force legal team, have denied me even the chance to take stock of what is missing in my own house,” he said.
The grieving husband also accused members of his wife’s extended family of conducting an “illegal burial” without his consent, abducting their four-year-old daughter, and spreading damaging narratives against him despite the availability of autopsy and toxicology reports which he says cleared him of any wrongdoing.
He called on the Inspector General of Police to discipline erring officers, release his wife’s personal belongings to him, and protect his rights as her lawful spouse under the Marriage Act.
He also urged the Delta State Government, led by Governor Sheriff Francis Oborevwori, to intervene impartially, insisting that the government must not enable “ethnic prejudice or family manipulation” in matters of justice.
The widower also warned that bloggers and media outlets who, in his words, “sustained calumny and defamation without evidence,” would face legal action.
“The justice system of Nigeria must not be compromised,” he said. “The truth is out, and the autopsy has spoken.”
Meanwhile, reports from the family of the deceased said “48-year-old Shimite was found unresponsive in her Asaba residence on Easter Monday, foaming at the mouth.”
A family member revealed that her husband (Mr. David Favour Love) had allegedly locked her indoors all day, prompting concern from their maid and an emergency visit from her elder brother.
She was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital in Asaba, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Reports had it that Mr. Love, her husband then, was arrested by the Delta State Police Command over allegations bordering on her death.
Bright Edafe, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command however, told BusinessDay that Love was not arrested but was given protective custody as the family of the deceased was after his life following Shimite’s death.
From April 21 when the incident was reported to the command, Edafe said the police commenced thorough investigation to find out the cause of the death, promising to make the report public once the autopsy result was ready.
While the public waited for the official announcement of the result, it went virile on the social media through Love’s lawyer that Shimite died of unmanaged hypertension and not of poison or murder as was alleged by the family.
Edafe had also told BusinessDay weeks after, that Love who was under their protective custody was allowed to go as there was no danger.
From the autopsy, he said there was no proof that the deceased was murdered or poisoned as the investigation was based on science.
“There was no physical harm or injury on her to show that she was killed.”
The burial programme of Shimite was fixed for June this year. In between, the family dragged the matter to Abuja, demanding for the re-arrest of Mr. Love even as the Delta State Police Command was accused of doing a shabby job on the investigation of the death of the deceased. With this development, many thought the burial of Shimite would wait until the Force headquarters concludes on the matter.
June ending, the burial held as planned and the remains of her body was laid to rest in her father’s compound at Ebu Community in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.
She was buried not as Shimite Love but Shimite Bello, a name she was officially known with before Love came into her life. Even till her death, not many knew she changed from Bello to Love. Some people still addressed her as Bello.
Now, after the burial, Oreva Amata, a nephew who addressed Shimite as his second mum had this to say, “Now that my 2nd Mom has been given a befitting burial in heartwarming ceremonies in Abuja and Delta as well as a thanksgiving service to God for a race very well ran and full of genuine impact, it is time to expose this fraudulent creature…for his evil deeds and his attempts to strategically manipulate public opinion and steal what is not his which he has clearly been targeting. ”
In summary of the 10 points he listed, Amata said Love has been trying to steal Shimite’s property after he killed her and tried to destroy her otherwise unblemished reputation.
“Follow this closely, I want to remind you that there isn’t any other suspect in this case. It’s David Favour Love’s words vs David Favour Love’s actions. Shimite Bello is now dead and unable to defend herself.
“His plan has always been to do it this way where he can reference an autopsy/toxicology report.
Amata dropped a poser to justify his points, “If your mother was asthmatic and having an attack and then locked her in a room where he denied her access to her phone, to be unable to reach anyone, denied her access to her inhaler, actually watched her gasp for air, and then die.
“Then, tried to rush her to the hospital after he was sure she was dead. Would you say that she was murdered? Would the medical reports show that she died from Asthma? But what is the real reason why she died? This is evil strategy and needs to be exposed.”
