Mujeeb Akindoyin
A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced an artisan, Adakole Ogbodo, to death for the murder of his friend, identified as Bolaji, following a quarrel over sachet water.
Justice Modupe Nicol-Clay convicted Ogbodo after finding that the Lagos State Government had established the murder charge beyond reasonable doubt through what she described as strong and compelling circumstantial evidence.
The judge held that although no witness directly saw the moment the fatal injuries were inflicted, the chain of events surrounding the incident pointed irresistibly to Ogbodo as the person responsible for Bolaji’s death.
The incident occurred on January 31, 2022, at 66B Mosley Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The prosecution, led by former Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Babajide Martins, had accused Ogbodo of unlawfully killing Bolaji by hitting him with an iron object and stabbing him with a knife.
The charge was brought under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, which prescribes the death penalty for murder.
During the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses, including a carpenter, Chigozie Paul, and two police officers, Inspector Damian Ogunye and Inspector Adeniyi Shola.
Paul’s evidence formed a major part of the circumstantial case against Ogbodo.
He told the court that he and others were watching a football match between Senegal and Egypt when they heard shouts outside that somebody had been killed.
According to him, Ogbodo had earlier been eating with Bolaji before an argument reportedly broke out over sachet water.
Paul testified that he subsequently saw Ogbodo beat Bolaji with a scaffolding pipe during the ensuing fight.
He said Ogbodo pursued Bolaji across the road after the deceased fell and continued beating him.
Paul further told the court that he saw Bolaji’s lifeless body on Mosley Road the following morning, while Ogbodo was seated a short distance away.
He also testified that when police officers asked Ogbodo whether he knew the deceased, he answered in the affirmative.
Asked who killed Bolaji, Paul said Ogbodo allegedly responded, “Him.”
However, under cross-examination, Paul admitted that he was not present at the precise moment the fatal injuries were inflicted.
Inspector Ogunye told the court that the police received a report of the murder, visited the scene, photographed the body and conveyed it to the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, for examination.
He also testified that Ogbodo was arrested at the scene and that a knife was recovered from him.
The second police witness, Inspector Shola, told the court that the case was subsequently transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, for further investigation.
