A LAGOS High Court, Ikeja, yesterday commenced trial in the murder case of an official of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), Nurudeen Akinlabi. A man identified as Sonibare Ademola was charged for the alleged murder of Akinlabi.
When the case came up for hearing before Justice Habib Abiru, the father of the deceased, Saliatu Akinlabi, who stood as a witness, burst into tears when asked to tell the court what happened to his son.
Akinlabi, who lives at No. 4, Aina Obembe Street in Ipaja, told the court that he did not know the defendant (Ademola) and that the death of his son remained a mystery to him. He added that the only thing he could recall was that on July 25, 2009, “while he was asleep at about 10.00 p.m., he heard a knock on his door and some policemen rushed in with his son, asking him to identify the body, at a time when he had been battered, beaten and stabbed on the head and hand and blood was gushing out of his head”.
He stated that in his curiosity, he asked the policemen what they did to his son, but they told him that they did not know what happened to him, that they just found him. The deceased was rushed to a hospital at Ipaja where he eventually died. On hearing the sad news, he fainted and was rushed to the hospital.
While in the hospital, the deceased was said to have said: “I never offended you and you stabbed me twice, when I get well, I will revenge”.
The father of the deceased also disclosed that he had a cordial relationship with his son while he was alive and that on the day he was murdered, he was hale and hearty when he went to work.
“During the course of police investigations, the father of the deceased was taken to Panti Police Station where he wrote his statement. He also disclosed that while at the Panti Police Station, he met with the Divisional Police Officer, the elders and Ipaja-Ayobo Local Council chairman, who informed him of his son’s death.
The second witness, Corporal Mayowa Fabiyi, failed to appear in court. Following this development, Justice Habib Abiru adjourned the matter till May 12, 2011, for further hearing.