19th February, 2014
Henry Ojelu
A Nigerian high court in Ikeja, capital of Lagos State, has fixed Friday, 21 February for judgment in the murder trial of Akolade Arowolo, charged with killing his wife, Titilayo, a banker.
Arowolo was alleged to have stabbed the lady seventy-six times in their home in Isolo, a suburb of Lagos in 2011.
The judgement date is contained in a hearing notice, issued to the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Arowolo’s counsel, Olarenwaju Ajanaku.
Arowolo was arraigned on 21 December, 2011, before Justice Latifat Okunnu, on a one-count charge of murder.
The Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution, Barrister Olabisi Ogungbesan, alleged that the accused murderd Titilayo, 24 June, 2011 at his residence at Akindeinde Street, Isolo, Lagos.
Relatives of the deceased, including her father, George Oyakhire, and her step-mother, Adetoun, had testified that Arowolo’s marriage was characterised by domestic violence.
Another witness, Professor John Obafunwa, a Consultant Pathologist and Chief Medical Examiner of Lagos State, had also testified that Titilayo was stabbed 76 times.
The prosecution closed its case against the accused on 19 November , 2012, after calling 12 witnesses. The accused, who testified on 22 May, 2013, however, denied the allegation, blaming his in-laws for the trouble in his marriage.
He insisted that his wife died after she accidentally fell on a knife during a quarrel on his birthday.
The court remanded him in Ikoyi Prison while the trial lasted.