‘I Took Killaboi As Family, But He Killed My Daughter’

The mother of the late Augusta Onuwabhagbe, allegedly murdered by her boyfriend Benjamin Best Nnayereugo, known as “Killaboi,” told a Lagos High Court on Wednesday that she once considered the defendant a family member but never believed he could kill her daughter.

Mrs Cordelia Onuwabhagbe, who was testifying in the ongoing murder trial of Killaboi, told Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court in Igbosere that the defendant was a frequent visitor to her home, where he ate, rested, and occasionally slept.

The Lagos State Government had arraigned Killaboi before the court on a two-count charge of indecent interference with Augusta’s corpse by cutting her stomach and removing her body parts, and murder by stabbing.

The prosecution had informed the court that the offences are contrary to sections 165 and 222 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2015.

The police stated that the defendant murdered the deceased at his residence, 24A Abiola Apooyan Street, Oral Estate, Ikota, Ajah, Lagos, on July 13, 2023.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The witness, who was led in evidence by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, stated, “Until this tragic incident, he was like a son to me. He came to my house, ate, rested, and slept there, but I did not know he was a killer.”

Mrs Onuwabhagbe described her daughter’s age at death as 21 years, five months, 10 days, and 11 hours.

She also shared what she knew about the relationship between the deceased and the defendant, stating that Nnayereugo had taken Augusta on trips to Mauritius in 2021 and to Seychelles in 2022.

She also testified that the first incident of physical abuse reportedly happened during the Seychelles trip.

The witness recounted that the defendant told her about a quarrel after he allegedly found her daughter making videos of herself to post online, which led to him breaking her phone and making a video with his own phone.

Mrs Onuwabhagbe stated that the defendant claimed the argument started because her daughter was making videos of herself, yet he had previously made videos for her modelling jobs that she later posted.

During court proceedings, defence lawyer Chief Marcel Oru (SAN) suggested the disagreement was over the deceased posting nearly naked videos online.

However, the witness refuted this, stating that her daughter only wore bikinis for modelling. She also denied the allegations of damaging hotel property during the incident, asserting that the video sent by the defendant did not show any destruction.

The court was further told that the defendant allegedly spent over N10 million on her birthday, buying luxury gifts like designer bags, jewellery, and an iPhone.

The mother admitted seeing the gifts online but claimed the defendant later retrieved the iPhone after her daughter’s death.

Mrs Onuwabhagbe stated that before Augusta’s death, the defendant never told her their relationship had ended or that her daughter was involved in prostitution or hookups. It was only after the killing that he claimed she had sex tapes with men.

The witness also disclosed confronting her daughter after the defendant accused her of chatting with other men online, and that her daughter claimed that the defendant impersonated a man to call her for sex, which raised trust issues.

Regarding money from the defendant, she acknowledged receiving N60,000, N100,000, N15,000, and N1 million at different times.

She explained that she transferred the N1 million to a cooperative account due to discomfort with the amount and later used it to pay an informant in November 2023, after learning of the defendant’s possible whereabouts in Sierra Leone.

The mother denied that the defendant regularly supported her financially or deposited money into her bank accounts, contrary to the defence’s claims.

The judge has adjourned the case to April 23 for further cross-examination.