21st February, 2012
The trial of Akolade Arowolo, who allegedly killed his banker-wife, Titilayo, continued on Monday at an Ikeja High Court, with the court admitting some exhibits tendered by the prosecution.
The exhibits admitted by the court included a kitchen knife, which was allegedly used in the murder of the deceased, four mobile phones and 29 crime-scene photographs taken by the police.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 30-year-old Arowolo is standing trial before Justice Lateefat Okunnu on a one-count charge of murder.
The Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) alleged that the accused had on June, 24, 2011 stabbed his wife to death at their home located at 8, Akindeinde Street, Isolo, Lagos.
On Monday, the DPP, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan, called her fourth and fifth witnesses to testify against Arowolo.
The fourth witness, Saidu Husseni, a security man at the residence of the Arowolos, said he was at the house on the day of the incident.
Husseni told the court that Arowolo and a friend had driven into the compound around mid-day and spent about an hour in his apartment before leaving hurriedly.
The witness, who gave his evidence in Hausa language, further alleged that he saw Arowolo washing blood from his hands, while urging him to hurriedly open the gate.
“I saw him cleaning his hands which were filled with blood and he was telling me to open the gate quickly so that he can drive out,” he said.
Husseni further claimed that he later saw a blood soaked cloth and some irons stained with blood near the Arowolos apartment in the four-storey building.
According to him, the accused, after driving away in his Honda Accord car, did not return to the house on that day.
He said: “It was the next day that I heard that Kola (Arowolo) had killed his wife.”
The fifth witness, ASP Titus Ogbonna, from the Homicide Section, State CID, Yaba, Lagos said he led the investigation after the matter was transferred to them from the Aswani Police Station.
Ogbonna said: “When we got to Aswani Police Station where the accused’s vehicle was being kept as exhibit, we observed that there were blood stains on the steering wheel, on the driver’s seat and on the floor of the driver’s side.
“We also discovered a N100 note stained with blood on the floor of the car, which was recovered and kept as an exhibit.
He said a police photographer, Gift Eneche, took photographs of the car and at the Arowolos residence, when the team later visited the place for further investigation on that same day.
The witness said: “The house was a two-bedroom flat in an eight-apartment building. The kitchen wall was stained with blood.
“We observed that two items were missing from the kitchen rack and that there was no knife there.”
According to him, there were also blood stains on the floor of the parlour, while furnishings were scattered all over.
Ogbonna said: “At the bedroom where the deceased was allegedly killed, we saw that the mattress was soaked with blood.
“There was blood on the floor and scattered clothes which we suspected must have been a sign of struggle.
“We recovered a (pair of) short knickers soaked with blood and a lump of flesh suspected to be that of the deceased, which was later taken to a pathologist for investigation,” he added.
Ogbonna also told the court that some of the exhibits recovered were still with the police, adding that they would be tendered before the court when located.
NAN reports that the matter was adjourned to March 20 for continuation of trial.