Couple charged with alleged murder of housemaid, knows fate July 7
20 May 2022 |
12:20 am
A Lagos High Court, Ikeja, yesterday, fixed July 7 for judgment in the suit involving a Lagos couple, Fortune and Stephen Nwankwo, who allegedly murdered their housemaid, Joy Adole, in Bariga. Lagos.
Federal High Court, Lagos
A Lagos High Court, Ikeja, yesterday, fixed July 7 for judgment in the suit involving a Lagos couple, Fortune and Stephen Nwankwo, who allegedly murdered their housemaid, Joy Adole, in Bariga. Lagos.
The trial judge, Oyindamola Ogala, fixed the date, after counsel to both parties adopted their written addresses.The suspects were accused of killing a 19-year-old Adole on April 20, 2020, at their residence, located at 18, Ogundola Street, Bariga.
The couple is facing eight-count charge, bordering on conspiracy, involuntary manslaughter and accessory after the fact to murder.
They, however, denied the allegation, claiming that Adole committed suicide by hanging herself in her bedroom.
Following their plea of not guilty, the State Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), commenced trial and called eight witnesses to prove the case against the couple.
The couple thereafter filed no case submission upon closing of prosecution case on October 12, 2021. But, the court in a ruling, refused the application on November 24, 2021 and asked them to open their defence.
On January 17, the couple in their defence, told the court that the day preceding the incident, Joy was caught with noodles and was beaten, because she was fond of stealing foodstuffs at home.
The wife, Fortune said the deceased denied stealing the foodstuffs, but claimed to have bought them with her money.
Fortune also told the court that after the incident, she had a discussion with the deceased, where she apologised and agreed not to do that again.
According to her, when she asked Joy what she would have for dinner, the deceased said she was not eating till the next day.
“The following morning, I called her while in the kitchen, but there was no response. So, I went into her room and when I opened the door, I saw her hanging on the ceiling.
“I screamed and called my husband and told him in our dialect that Joy has killed herself, he screamed too.
“I called one of our neighbours to come to see what happened and after then, my husband put a call to his father and he later went to the police station to report the incident.
“I was also asked to report at the station and give statements. The police detained me. While in detention, my Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), thumbprint and blood sample were taken.
“From there, I was taken to court and remanded at Kirikiri correctional centre,” she told the court.
Related
34 mins ago
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has appealed to the 15 aspirants who contested for the gubernatorial ticket of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the primary elections held last Saturday to sheathe their swords.
35 mins ago
Development experts have expressed dismay over the slow pace of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), noting that it is insufficient to achieve the 2030 targets.
38 mins ago
Lagos State Government, yesterday, said that about 856,680 traffic infractions were captured by the state’s automatic number plate recognition cameras.
40 mins ago
Following the success of its 'Back to School project' at St. Michael's African School, Ipari-Nla, Ogun State, in February, the Angel Foundation has completed another transformative project at the school, which was commissioned on Monday.
1 hour ago
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, yesterday, urged researchers and institutes in the agricultural sector to align their research with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security to have enough food to feed Nigerians.
1 hour ago
Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) has dedicated this year’s edition of World Book and Copyright Day to Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, for his dedication to the promotion of reading culture and the protection of copyright.
1 hour ago
Report released yesterday by an international child rights group, Save the Children, indicated that about 15.6 million children in Nigeria faced hunger as the lean season starts in June.
1 hour ago
An information security organisation, Digital Encode, has established a new sub-Saharan global office in the Lekki area of Lagos State, Nigeria.
×
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
0 Comments
We will review and take appropriate action.