How alleged killer of 89-year-old grandma, daughter was arrested- Witness

Justice Modupe Nicoclay of the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere
has heard how Joseph Ogu, the alleged killer of an 89- year-old
grandmother Adejoke John, and her 36- year-old daughter Oreoluwa
John was arrested.

Ogu was arraigned by the Lagos State Government over alleged
murder of the deceased on October 22, on a three-count charge of
murder and stealing.

At the resumed hearing of the case, a security guard, Mr Dahiru
Musa, told the court how he discovered the bodies of the deceased
who were allegedly killed by their newly-employed house help, Ogu,
two days after he was employed.

Musa who is the first prosecution witness, told Justice
Nicoclay, he saw the defendant two days after his employment,
around 2:15am, when he opened the gate and was about driving the
89-year-old’s car out.

He said that he approached the defendant and asked him why he
was driving the deceased’s car, at quarter past 2am, and the
defendant replied that the deceased sent him on an errand
somewhere.
The witness said: “I asked him why he was driving mama’s car, he
said mama sent him on errand somewhere; I challenged him again and
I said mama couldn’t have sent you on an errand at this time”.

Musa who was led in evidence in chief by the Lagos State
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo
SAN, said he held the defendant tight and collected the car keys
from him and led him back to the deceased’s house.

He said: “The defendant and I climbed the stairs case to the
upper floor, where mama’s apartment is and entered the sitting room
but it was scattered, all the drawers were pulled out and their
contents scattered all over the floor; then I started shouting
mama, mama, but nobody answered me.

“I now asked the defendant to take me to where mama was; when I
entered mama’s room, I saw her dead body on the floor.”

When asked how many occupants were in the apartment, the witness
said there were only two occupants, mama and her daughter who was
also stabbed to death.

Musa said: “At that point, I turned the defendant round and tied
his hands behind, and his legs and also gaged his mouth until in
the morning, when I handed him over to the police”.

He also disclosed that the defendant spoilt the bumper of the
car of the deceased when he wanted to drive it out.

According to him, four phones were found in the booth of the
car, four Automated Teller Machine Cards were also found in the
booth, a big plasma television was also in the booth of the
car.

The witness who said he had been working as a security guard in
the area where the incident occurred for a about two years and
three months, said prior to the incident, mama use to send him on
errands.

When he was also asked how he knew the defendant, he said : “It
was through mama that I knew him and mama asked me to show him
where I bought things for her.”
Ogu was represented by Mr Monday Ubani.

During the defendant’s arraignment, the Director of Public
Prosecution (DPP) Mr Yaqub Oshoala, had told the court that Ogu
committed the alleged offence on June 19.

He said that the incident took place at 4, Ogunlana Drive, in
Surulere area of Lagos, at about 9: 30pm.

Oshoala said that the defendant killed one Adejoke John, by
strangulating her to death.

He also said that Ogu, also killed Oreoluwa John, by stabbing
her to death.

The prosecutor further alleged that the defendant whilst armed
with a knife, robbed the deceased of her car, phones and Plasma
TV.

He said: “Ogu, whilst armed with a knife, robbed one Adejoke
John of her Toyota Camry Saloon Car, with Reg No. FST 104 CW, LG
plasma TV, motorway handset, one Gionee handset, one Nokia phone,
one i- Tell phone and one power bank”.

According to the prosecutor the offences committed are contrary
to Sections 222 (1) (a), 297 (2) (b) and punishable under Sections
223 of the criminal laws of Lagos 2015.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge against him.

Justice Nicoclay, however, adjourned the case until January 23,
for continuation of trial.

Odumakin to chair 7th News Express Anniversary
Lecture
•Veteran broadcaster Helen Odeleye is host

Famed Change Agent, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, will chair the 7th
News Express Anniversary Lecture holding this Thursday, November
14, 2019 at the Main Hall of Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Ikeja,
Lagos.

“We couldn’t have possibly made a better choice than Dr. Joe
Okei-Odumakin considering her pedigree as a change agent and the
theme of the Lecture, which is focused on generating creative ideas
to take Nigeria out of the woods,” ,” News Express Publisher Isaac
Umunna said Monday in a statement.

He described, Dr. Okei-Odumakin, who is the president of the
rights groups Women Arise for Change Initiative and the Campaign
for Democracy, as one of the most awarded Nigerians alive.

“Dr. Joe, as she is fondly called, is a Change Agent who has
frequently been arrested for her activism, and was detained 17
times during the Ibrahim Babangida military era. She has been
involved with over 2,000 cases where a woman’s rights had been
disregarded.

In 2013, Dr. Joe was presented an International Women of Courage
Award from the United States Department of State. The award was
presented to her by the First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of
State John Kerry at the US State Department’s Dean Acheson
Auditorium in celebration of International Women’s Day,” Umunna
said.

He announced Helen Odeleye, a veteran broadcast and immediate
past General Manager of NTA Channel 10 Lagos, as Host of the
Lecture.

Umunna said that former Governor of Anambra State and Vice
Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during
the 2019 polls, Mr. Peter Obi, will headline the 7th News Express
Anniversary Lecture as the Special Guest of Honour and Guest
Speaker at

He announced the keynote speakers to include Eminent Lawyer and
celebrated Activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN; and Legal cum
Development Expert, Barrister Bashir Maidugu, a former National
Legal Adviser of PDP.

“As was the case with previous years’ editions, the 7th News
Express Anniversary Lecture will attract top government
functionaries, industry and religious leaders, professional groups
and diverse sectorial leaders, among others. It is a spectacular
programme that commands public attention with organisers creating
hype pre-event, during and post events both in the traditional and
new media. It will also be streamed live to a global audience and
broadcast on News Express Digital TV,” Umunna said.

The statement identified past speakers at the News Express
Anniversary Lecture to include Special Adviser To The President On
Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina; Governor Sani Bello of Niger
State, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director Hadiza Bala
Usman; and ‘Africa’s Bill Gates’, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of
Zinox Technologies Ltd and Konga.

News Express, which debuted on August 29, 2012, is one of
Nigeria’s most popular and influential online dailies. It is read
by hundreds of thousands of people around the world and records
annual traffic of upwards of 100 million.

Isaac Umunna