Admin l Wednesday, April 10, 2019
IGBOSERE, Lagos, Nigeria – A Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere today remanded a Togolese cook, Sunday Adefonou Anani(22) in prison custody. He was charged with the murder of the Chief Executive Officer of Credit Switch Limited, Chief Opeyemi Bademosi.
Justice Mobolanle Okikiolu-Ighile made the order following Anani’s arraignment by the Lagos State Government on a two-count charge of murder and armed robbery.
The charge, prepared by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Titilayo Shitta-Bey, was read and interpreted in French to Anani, who had earlier told the court , through Office of Public Defender(OPD) that he could only understand French. According to the DPP, Anani committed the offences last October 31, at Bademosi’s Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos residence, where he allegedly stabbed Bademosi, 67, to death with a knife and stole his valuables, including the deceased’s phone, contrary to sections 223 and 297 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. Anani pleaded not guilty, following which the judge remanded him in prison custody.
The DPP also informed the court that the prosecution has 17 witnesses in the case. Adenrera Adeyemi of the Office of Public Defender, pleaded with the court to direct the prosecution to provide the defence with complete proof of evidence, to enable the defence prepare for case.The court upheld her application and adjourned till May 21, for trial.
The Lagos State Police Command had alleged that the Togolese cook, Sunday Adefonou Anani(22) killed his boss October 31, 2018.
“On October 31, three days after assuming duty, the suspect, with the intention to rob the deceased, made his way to his boss’ bedroom through the kitchen to the lobby and then to the room, which was the scene of the crime, when he observed that the woman of the house, Mrs. Ebunola Bademosi, had left home for a transaction in a neighbourhood bank.
“According to the suspect, when he got to Bademosi’s room and met him on the bed, he said, ‘Chief, I am not here to kill you.’ Bademosi asked him, ‘What do you want?’ and he replied ‘money. Bademosi said he had no money in the house. At this point, the suspect said he tied him up with a cloth and put him on the floor.
“He went further to say that Bademosi, while still on the floor, kicked him, causing the knife he tucked inside his pants to fall off. He added that Bademosi crawled to pick the knife, but he (the suspect) was faster, and that, as he struggled with him, the knife accidentally pierced Bademosi.
He said that while exiting the room, Bademosi took the knife to stab him, so he kicked him and he fell down. He then took the knife and stabbed him twice on the chest, which added to three knife stabs.
“When he was done killing the man, he entered his bathroom and threw away his apron already stained with blood and the kitchen knife used as murder weapon. He, thereafter, heard a knock on the kitchen door, and, sensing it must be the deceased’s wife, he ran out of the room and exited from the sitting room door. He was confronted by the guard at the gate, one Nura Mamudu, who asked him where he was hurrying to and he replied that ‘madam sent me on an errand.’
“Finding himself in the street, he came across men loading cement into a truck. He assisted them and they rewarded him with a lift to Ondo State and N500 given to him by the truck driver in appreciation.”
