Admin I Tuesday, July 11, 2023
IKEJA, Lagos – A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja today sentenced a 30-year-old staff of Etsahol Hotel & Suites, Jeffrey Ehizojie to death by hanging for strangling his employer, Olusola Olusoga and the hotel manager, Tunji Omikunle to death.
Justice Oyindamola Ogala, held that the prosecution succeeded in proving the case of murder of Olusola Olusoga and Ehizojie against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt. Ogala also found Ehizojie guilty of beating and strangling the Managing Director of Etsahol Hotel and Suites located at Ojodu-Berger, Lagos.
She said the prosecution was premised on the confessional statement of the convict as well as circumstantial evidence and that the court had carefully considered the retracted defence statement, (which was admitted as evidence) which showed where Ehizojie stated that one of the hotel staff, Henry, had informed him that he observed that the owner of the hotel kept a lot of money at home.
“The defendant, in his confessional statement said that Olusoga treated her workers badly so they planned to tie her and collect his money. Confessional statement is the best evidence to ground conviction and as held in several cases, it can be relied upon solely where voluntary.
“It is curious that the defendant who was privy to the state of affairs in the hotel told the court that he was shocked when the police informed him of the death of his boss and the manager when he was arrested at Port Harcourt. There is no doubt that the defendant was present at the premises of the scene of crime as confirmed by him in his evidence in chief and exhibits before the court,”
The judge held that the court had carefully considered the evidence of the defendant, particularly his account of how he left the hotel premises on Jan. 25, 2019 and his incredible story as to why he did not return to the hotel after the incident nor report at the police station.
She held that the convict had no clear explanation why he fled to Port Harcourt the next day until his arrest. According to her, the circumstantial evidence against the convict was unequivocal, positive and irresistibly pointed to his guilt.
She said: “the court believes that the defendant indeed wrote the confessional statement (exhibit PW2a-c) and his feeble attempt to retract was to exonerate himself from the commission of the deadly act.
“After a careful consideration of the facts in this case, I hereby find the defendant guilty of the two-count charge against him.
“The sentencing of the court upon you Jeffrey Ehizogie is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead,”
The state prosecution said that Ehizogie and others still at large, strangulated the UK returnee Olusoga, by beating her with a rope. They also submitted that the convict strangled and beat Omikunle to death. He then collected a key from his pocket, opened Olusola’s apartment and strangled him to death.
The prosecution called four witnesses, hotel staff, David Nkwor, ASP Chris Akpanomo, ASP Malik Aliyu and Harrison Bruce, against the convict.
