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| Joseph Ogbu |
The Lagos State police have arrested a 22-year-old man, who allegedly killed his employer and her mother.
Joseph Ogbu was on Thursday arrested for allegedly killing Oreoluwa John, 38, and her 89-year-old mother, Adejoke John.
He allegedly committed the crime two days after he was employed as a houseboy.
It was learnt that the incident occurred between 2am and 3am on Thursday in the deceasedโs No. 4, Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos home.
Ogbu, from Benue State, is said to have stabbed Oreoluwa to death. He is also being held for Adejokeโs death.
There is, however, conflicting information as to how Adejoke, who would have been 90 next April, died.
According to the police, she slumped and died of shock after seeing her daughterโs body.
But a close relative of the deceased said in confidence that there were nail marks and blood around her neck, suggesting that she was strangled.
Ogbu was apprehended as he tried to flee in the elderly womanโs car, filled with her valuables.
A cousin of the deceased, Mr. Tajudeen Taofeek, who spoke on behalf of the family, narrated how the incident occurred.
He said: โAt about 2am, I received a call from mamaโs number, but I was surprised because mama hasnโt called by that time before. So, I didnโt pick up immediately, but later my phone rang again and I picked it up. But it wasnโt mamaโs voice that spoke, it was a stranger. The man is a tricycle rider who ferries people returning from club at night.
โWhen I asked the man what he was doing with mamaโs phone, he said that mama was dead.
โI was shocked. I asked what happened and he said he met a young man who was trying to run out of mamaโs gate with her car, and because mama was a very well-known person to everyone, he knew that mama wonโt be moving out by that time of the night. So, he blocked the car with his tricycle and asked the person to come down, but he refused.
โSo, the tricycle rider forced him out and it led to a fight. About three other people joined him and they seized the young man. One of them went in and discovered the daughterโs body in the sitting room and mamaโs body in her room.โ
Taofeekโs story was corroborated by the Lagos State Police Command.
Its spokesperson, Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said in a statement that the suspect committed the murder at about 3am on June 20.
He said: โOn June 20, 2019 at about 3am, the Surulere Police Station received a distress call from No. 4 Ogunlana Drive, Surulere that one Joseph Ogbu, 22, who was employed as a domestic staff on June 18, 2019, murdered his employer, Oreoluwa John, 38, and her 89 years old mother, Adejoke John.
โThe suspect confessed to the crime. In his statement, he averred that his employer asked him to clean the house at about 9pm of June 19 but an argument ensued between them, which prompted him to stab her with a knife.
โThe shock of her death made her aged mother to slump and died.
โConsidering the fact that they are dead, he moved some valuable properties such as electronics, handsets and household items into the employerโs Toyota Camry Salon car and attempted to escape to where he cannot be found, before he was apprehended by policemen on patrol at Ogunlana point.
โThe vehicle and items stolen were recovered. The crime scene was sealed off and corpses of the two victims were taken to Mainland Hospital Yaba for autopsy.
โThe Commissioner of Police Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu MNI has ordered the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba to take over the investigation and charge the suspect to court,โ the police spokesman said.
Another relative of the deceased said that Ogbu was recruited from Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
โThe man who recommended him to the family has been arrested by the police,โ the source, who pleaded for anonymity, said.
He explained that the evidence showed that the killings were premeditated.
The source went on: โMama and her daughter live on the top floor while businesses occupy the ground floor. The business owners informed us that yesterday (Wednesday), just 24 hours after he was employed, the houseboy told all of them that mama had ordered that they should all close by 4pm. This means he already had plans for mischief.โ
Two other residents of the area alleged that Ogbu attempted to set the building on fire by pouring petrol on the floor, but the relative dismissed the claim as untrue.
โWhat we found was that there was a bottle of petrol on the floor of one of the rooms,โ he said.
The source also noted that one of the things that alerted residents of the area was that, in Ogbuโs hurry to drive out of the building, he hit the side of the gate with the car.
He stated that burial plans had not been made yet, but the family was to do so soon and put the tragedy behind them.
โIt is a terrible tragedy and everyone is in shock,โ he added.
