Admin l Wednesday, May 03, 2017
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – An keja High Court was today told how a housekeeper, Christian Yavine, slaughtered Mrs Mariam Abiola, his 79 old employer.
Giving testimony, Policeman, Insp Godgift Moses said IYavine, a Beninoise, was 18-year-old when he committed the murder was committed denies the murder. IYavine however denied the charge.
Led in evidence by Mr Akin George, the police said on July 3, 2014, I and ASP Adetunji Fisayo, paid a visit to the crime scene.
“The room where the deceased was murdered was found scattered with a lot of blood seen on the mattress and the pillow. Our investigation team proceeded to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja to inspect the remains of the deceased.
“On close observation, there was a deep cut across the throat of the deceased and she had several minor cuts on her neck which shows a sign of a struggle,” Moses said. On how he became in charge of the murder case, he said “ I am a Police Inspector attached to the Homicide Division of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos.
“I met the defendant on July 2, 2014 at 4pm while I was on duty at the State CID, I received the original case file, exhibits were handed over to me. The defendant spoke yoruba language but I did not understand, so I asked a colleague Sgt. Adeola Lawal to interprete the language to English for me. Lawal interpreted his statement for me and it was read to the defendant and he confirmed that that was what he told Lawal.
“On July 7, 2014, we served the pathologist, Professor John Obafunwa with the coroners form and an autopsy was conducted by Obafunwa’s office to fund out the primary cause of death,” Moses said.
The prosecutor showed Moses two long kitchen knives, a black rope and a long pestle allegedly used in the crime which were identified by him and marked as exhibits by Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye. The prosecutor, claimed that Yavine allegedly committed the offence on July 1, 2014 at the residence of his employer located at Block 74, Flat 2, Ijaiye Low Cost Housing Estate, Pen Cinema, Agege, a Lagos suburb.
“The defendant killed a septuagenarian, Mrs Mariam Abiola, the mother of his employer, by stabbing her repeatedly in the throat with a kitchen knife. The defendant committed the murder after his employer, Mrs Joke Akinsemoyin, left the deceased and the teenage housekeeper in her home to go for a vigil scheduled for 10.30 p.m. in her church.
“When Akinsemoyin returned in the early hours of the morning, she inquired about her mother from Yavine and she told her that she was sleeping in the bedroom. When she wanted to go into the bedroom to check her, she was refused entry by Yavine and she immediately became suspicious.
“After a physical struggle with the defendant, she gained entry into the bedroom where she saw the body of her mother lying in the pool of her blood on the bed,” he said.
Ipaye adjourned the case until May 4 for continuation of trial.
