In keeping with its promise to brief members of the public of what, why and how Chief Opeyemi Bademosi, aged 67 years was killed at his No.3B, Onikoyi Lane, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Command, hereby gives a brief of what transpired in the deceased home on Wednesday, October 31, 2018.
The journey that eventually ended the life of one Opeyemi Bademosi, a business mogul and an Ondo State indigene, began in Ondo town, in the deceased home state, on 25/10/2018, when one Kofi Friday, 27, returned from Togo to Nigeria and called his compatriots including the murder suspect, Sunday Adefonou Anani, aged 22 years to his house at Yaba area in Ondo town to deliver messages from home.
When the suspect came to take his message, the said Kofi Friday who happens to be his cousin, delivered the good news that he has secured him a job as a cook in a rich man’s house in Ikoyi, Lagos through one Agbeko Ayenahin, a male friend of his. The suspect was subsequently taken to the deceased house in Ondo state on Friday October 26, 2018. It is important to mention that deceased usually went home every last weekend of the month; so on Sunday, October 28, 2018, he brought the suspect, Sunday Adefonou, 22, to Lagos to start work as his cook.
Three days after, Wednesday, October 31, 2018, the suspect with the intention to rob the deceased, made his way to his room through the kitchen, to the lobby and then to the room which was the scene of crime, when he observed that the woman of the house, Mrs Ebunola Bademosi, left home for a transaction in a neighbourhood bank called Polaris Bank, Falomo branch.
According to the suspect, when he got to the deceased room and met him on the bed, he said “Chief I am not here to kill you ” the deceased asked him “what do you want ” and he replied “money ” The deceased said he had no money in the house. At this point, the suspect said he tied him up with a cloth and put him on the floor. He went further to say that the deceased while still on the floor kicked him causing the knife he tucked inside his pants to fall off. He added that the deceased crawled to pick the knife but he (suspect) was faster; that he struggled with him and the knife accidentally pierced the deceased. He said that while exiting the room, the deceased took the knife to stab him so he kicked him and he fell down. He then took the knife and stabbed him twice on the chest which added to three knife stabs.
When he was done killing the man, he entered his bathroom and threw away his apron already stained with blood and the kitchen knife used as murder weapon. He, thereafter, heard a knock on the kitchen door, sensing it must be the deceased wife, he ran out of the room and exited from the sitting room door.
He was confronted by the guard at the gate, one Nura Mamudu, who asked him where he was hurrying to and he replied that “madam sent me on an errand”
Finding himself in the street, he came across men loading cement into a Dangote truck. He assisted them and they rewarded him with a lift to Ondo State and the sum of five hundred Naira (N500) given to him by the truck driver in appreciation.
Investigation into the case revealed the following facts: that the incident occurred on 31/10/2018, at about 0810hrs;
That the suspect committed the offence when the deceased’s wife, Mrs Ebunola Bademosi, went to Polaris Bank, Falomo branch, Lagos for a transaction;
That the suspect fled the crime scene when he heard knocks on the door of the kitchen door to Ondo State for refuge.
That the deceased’s wife entered the crime scene through the sitting room after knocking several times on the kitchen door without response from the suspect.
That the deceased’s wife, Ebunola Bademosi reported the incident to police after she found her husband in a pool of blood on 31/10/2018;
That the deceased, some minutes before his death, called his wife, Ebunola Bademosi on phone, complaining that the suspect, Sunday Adefonou Anani, barged into his bedroom uninvited;
That the suspect, Sunday Adefonou Anani, stabbed the deceased severally on the thoracic region (chest);
That the the scene of crime which is the deceased bedroom, was scattered and stained with blood;
That after killing the deceased, the suspect stole his Samsung phone and fled to Ondo state where he was later arrested on 02/11/2018;
That the stolen Samsung phone was recovered from the suspect upon his arrest in Ondo State;
That the kitchen knife used in killing the deceased was found inside the deceased’s toilet;
That the suspect’s apron found at the scene of crime was soaked with blood;
That the suspect broke down in tears and confessed to the act after he was confronted with evidence of the CCTV footage;
That the suspect led the investigation team to the crime scene demonstrating/reconstructing how he carried out the crime;
That, samples recovered from the scene of the incident have been handed over to Forensic and DNA Department of Ministry of Justice for examination and analysis;
That the autopsy report attributed the cause of death to (a) Bilateral Haemothorax (b) Laceration of the lung and intercostal vessels and (c) Multiple sharp force trauma to the chest;
That the suspects Kofi Friday, Agbeko Ayenahin, Salisu Hussein and Nura Mamudu are not linked to the crime.
In conclusion, therefore, investigation has established a prima facie case of armed robbery/murder of one Opeyemi Bademosi, male, aged 67 years against Sunday Adefonou Anani, male, 22 years. It is evident that the suspect single handedly committed the crime by stabbing Mr Opeyemi Bademosi to death with a kitchen knife with intent to steal from him. To this end, the suspect will be arrainged in court while the other suspects who are not linked to the crime will be released to reliable sureties.
The Commissioner of Police Lagos State, CP Edgal Imohimi, has directed that the case file be duplicated and forwarded to the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for vetting and legal advice. He thanks Lagosians for keeping faith with the police and for their patience throughout the duration of the murder investigation which took the Command a record two days to unravel and apprehend the author of the crime, Sunday Adefonou Anani. He enthused that criminal investigation has gone beyond the era of rule of thumb to an era of scientific and research-based investigation in Lagos State Police Command.
CSP Chike Oti
Police Public Relations Officer,
Lagos State.
