Police to charge house-help with murder of 89-year-old mother

The Police will on Thursday prefer a double murder charge
against a househelp, Joseph Ogbu, suspected of killing his employer
Oreoluwa John, 38, and her 89-year-old mother, Adejoke John at
their Lagos home last Thursday.

It was learnt that the State Criminal Investigation Department,
Yaba, which is overseeing the case, has concluded its
investigation.

A close relative of the deceased told The Nation that the family
was notified by the police that Ogbu, 22, will be brought before an
Ebute-Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos today.

But the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Bala Elkana, a
Deputy Superintendent (DSP), could not confirm the information.

“I’m out of town now, I’m attending a conference in Abuja, but
it can’t be far from the truth because I know we are done with his
investigation,” Elkana said.

The relative also said that Ogbu was believed to have compelled
either of the deceased to transfer money from their accounts to an
account provided by him.

“That has also been confirmed. He (Ogbu) forced, we don’t know
whether it was his employer or her mum, it’s more likely to be the
employer, (to make the transfer). Some monies were moved from
mama’s account to another account,” the source, who pleaded for
anonymity, said.

The source added that an autopsy was performed on the deceased
yesterday and the result was being awaited.

There were several online reports (not The Nation’s) claiming
that Oreoluwa was expecting a baby, but the relative did not
confirm the claim.

“That is what the autopsy will reveal. I know that she had
fibroid or something like that. She always had it when she was
alive. If you saw her, it would look like she was pregnant. People
are now saying she was pregnant. I cannot confirm that because I
like to have evidence. The autopsy will confirm whether there was a
pregnancy or it was the fibroid – I think it was fibroid – that she
has always had,” the source said.

The relative also debunked another claim that Oreoluwa was set
to wed before the incident occurred.

“That’s not true. I can confirm to you that it is not true.”

Addressing another rumour making the rounds that Ogbu had been
informed in three similar crimes before, the relative said: “In one
of them he torched the house, the relations thought that he was
involved in the fire, it was when they saw his picture in this case
that they came out and said they thought he was already dead.

“In the last incident, before this one, he was arrested by the
police but we heard he escaped. We heard that they are also trying
to make a case against the suspect.”

But the police did not confirm any of the new allegations.

Elkana told The Nation that he was not directly involved in the
investigation of the case, so he could neither confirm nor deny the
claims.

Benue State born Ogbu allegedly killed the mother and daughter
between 1am and 2am at the deceased’s No. 4, Ogunlana Drive,
Surulere, Lagos, home.

He was said to have stabbed Oreoluwa to death.

There is, however, conflicting information as to how Adejoke,
who would have been 90 next April, died.

According to the police, she slumped and died of shock after
seeing her daughter’s corpse.

But the relative told The Nation in confidence that there were
nail marks and blood around her neck, suggesting that she was
strangled.

Ogbu was apprehended as he tried to flee in the elderly woman’s
Toyota Camry car, filled with her Plasma TV set, among other
valuables.

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