A domestic staff, Joseph Ogbu, was sentenced to death by hanging for killing his employer, an 89-year-old woman, Ajoke John, and her daughter, Oreoluwa, in Lagos State.
Justice Modupe Nicole-Clay of the Lagos State High Court sitting sentenced the convict on Monday after she found him guilty on a three-count charge of armed robbery and murder, contrary to Sections 222 and 297 of Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015. The charges were preferred against him by the Lagos State Government.
On June 19, 2019, the convict brutally murdered the victims by strangling the elderly woman, Ajoke, and stabbing her daughter, Oreoluwa, to death in their residence at No 4 Ogunlana Drive, Surulere.
The convict also stole the properties of the deceased- including a Toyota Camry Saloon car, her LG plasma TV, motorway handset, one Gionee handset, one Nokia phone, one i-Tel Phone, and a power bank.
When he was arraigned on October 22, 2019, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
However, the Judge held that the defendant confessed to the crime.
She said: “He killed one Adejoke by strangling her and one Oreoluwa by stabbing her to death.”
According to her, the convict admitted to living with them and was the only witness of the incident, adding that he did not raise an objection to the admissibility of the confessional statement.
“There’s no doubt that the defendant confessed to the crimes. The defendant could not give an explanation of what he was doing with all the stolen items he was found with as at about 2:00 a.m. on the date he was arrested.
“The evidence is shown to the satisfaction of this Court and the Court has established guilt against the defendant.
“He is, hereby, guilty as charged.”
