Court Sentences Artisan To Death For Murdering Friend During Fight Over Sachet Water

Justice Modupe Nicol-Clay of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday convicted and sentenced an artisan, Adakole Ogbodo, to death for the murder of his friend, simply identified as Bolaji, after a quarrel over sachet water.

Justice Nicol-Clay handed down the verdict after holding that the prosecution had proved the case against Ogbodo beyond reasonable doubt through what she described as “strong and compelling circumstantial evidence.”

The judge held that, although no witness saw the moment the fatal injuries were inflicted, the circumstances surrounding the incident pointed irresistibly to Ogbodo as the person responsible for Bolaji’s death.

The incident occurred on January 31, 2022, at 66B Mosley Road, Ikoyi, according to the charge filed by the Lagos State Government.

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The prosecution, led by former Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, alleged that Ogbodo unlawfully killed Bolaji by striking him with an iron object and stabbing him with a knife.

The charge was brought under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, which prescribes the death penalty for murder.

At trial, the prosecution called three witnesses: a carpenter, Chigozie Paul, and police officers Inspector Damian Ogunye and Inspector Adeniyi Shola.

Paul’s testimony provided the crucial circumstantial evidence the court ultimately relied on.

He told the court that he and others were watching a Senegal versus Egypt football match when they heard shouts outside that someone had been killed.

According to Paul, Ogbodo had earlier been eating with the deceased before an argument broke out over sachet water.

Paul testified that he saw Ogbodo beat Bolaji with a scaffolding pipe during the ensuing fight.

He said Ogbodo followed Bolaji across the road after he fell and continued beating him.

Paul said he saw Bolaji’s lifeless body on Mosley Road the following morning, while Ogbodo was sitting a short distance away.

Paul further testified that when police asked Ogbodo whether he knew the deceased, he answered yes.

Asked who killed Bolaji, Ogbodo allegedly replied, “Him.”

However, under cross-examination, Paul acknowledged that he was not present when the fatal injuries were inflicted.

Inspector Ogunye told the court that police received a murder report, visited the scene, photographed the body and took it to the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba for examination.

He also testified that Ogbodo was arrested at the scene and that police recovered a knife from him.

Inspector Shola said the case was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti for further investigation.

He also told the court that some people said to have witnessed the incident declined to give statements to police.

In his defence, Ogbodo’s counsel challenged the prosecution’s case, arguing that it had not proved the charge beyond reasonable doubt.

The defence cited alleged inconsistencies in the prosecution witnesses’ testimony, the lack of an eyewitness to the killing and the prosecution’s failure to produce an autopsy report establishing the precise cause of death.

Counsel also argued that some people allegedly present at the scene were not called to testify.

Justice Nicol-Clay rejected these arguments, holding that the absence of an eyewitness did not prevent the prosecution from proving murder through circumstantial evidence.

The judge said circumstantial evidence could support a murder conviction if it were “cogent, complete and unequivocal” and led to the irresistible conclusion that the accused had committed the offence.

“It is my view that in the absence of an eyewitness account of the commission of any offence, it is permissible to resort to the surrounding circumstances to fathom the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime,” she held.

Justice Nicol-Clay said the evidence established a compelling chain of circumstances linking Ogbodo to Bolaji’s death.

“The evidence before the court is overwhelming,” the judge held, noting that Ogbodo had been seen beating the deceased and was later found near his body.

The court also rejected the defence argument that the absence of medical evidence was fatal to the prosecution’s case.

According to the judge, there was sufficient evidence that Ogbodo’s unlawful act caused harm which resulted in the deceased’s death.

“There is sufficient proof that the unlawful act of Ogbodo caused some harm to the deceased which caused the death of the deceased,” she held.

On the issue of intention, the judge held that Ogbodo must have known that repeatedly hitting a person on the head with a scaffolding rod could result in death or grievous bodily harm.

“The court finds that the convict set out to cause grievous bodily harm to the deceased knowing that the probable consequence of the use of a scaffolding rod on the head of the deceased could be death,” she said.

The judge consequently found Ogbodo guilty of murder.

Before passing sentence, the court considered the plea for mercy made on Ogbodo’s behalf.

His lawyer told the court that the convict had been in custody since 2022, had no family or support system and deserved leniency.

Justice Nicol-Clay, however, held that the law prescribed a mandatory death sentence for murder under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, leaving the court without discretion on the punishment.

The judge noted the high degree of Ogbodo’s complicity and the fact that the ultimate harm suffered by the victim was death.

She consequently sentenced Ogbodo to death for murder.