The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced Adakole Ogbodo to death for murdering a man identified simply as Bolaji during a fight over sachet water.
Justice Modupe Nicol-Clay convicted Ogbodo on Tuesday after the prosecution linked him to the January 31, 2022 incident at 66B Mosley Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The Lagos State Government’s prosecution team, led by former Director of Public Prosecutions Dr Babajide Martins and Mrs Titilayo Olanrewaju-Daud, said Ogbodo killed Bolaji with an iron object and a knife. The charge, filed on June 20, 2022, was brought under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Three witnesses testified, including carpenter Chigozie Paul and police officers Inspector Damian Ogunye and Inspector Adeniyi Shola.
Paul said he saw Ogbodo hitting Bolaji with a scaffolding pipe after they disagreed over sachet water while eating together. He said Ogbodo chased Bolaji across the road before he later found his lifeless body the next morning.
Paul also told the court that when police asked Ogbodo who killed Bolaji, he replied, “Him,” referring to himself.
The defence argued that the prosecution lacked an eyewitness, an autopsy report and sufficient proof.
Justice Nicol-Clay rejected the arguments, saying circumstantial evidence could establish guilt. “It is permissible to rely on surrounding circumstances to identify the perpetrator of a crime in the absence of eyewitnesses,” she held, describing the evidence as “overwhelming.”
The court found Ogbodo guilty and ordered the mandatory death sentence under Section 223.
