An 18-year-old man, Hounvenou Yavine, a national of Republic of Benin was arrested by the police for slitting the throat of his boss’ mother, Mrs. Mariam Abiola.
The sad incident happened at their residence in Ijaiye Low Cost Housing Estate, Pen Cinema, Lagos.
Yavine, who had completed his primary education in Porto Novo, was brought to Lagos in April 2014 by his elder sister to work for the Abiola’s for a monthly salary of N8,000.
He was assigned to do the basic house chores and also join his boss to her shop, where he assisted in selling alcoholic drinks.
Punch reports:
It was learnt that in May, 2014, the residence of the 78-year-old in Ikeja was demolished and she relocated in the interim to stay with her daughter at Pen Cinema.
The suspect was said to have been assigned to a new task of tending to the old woman and assisting with the house chores, instead of going to the shop.
On the fateful day, the suspect was said to be home alone with the deceased when he slit her throat and killed her.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the Beninese insisted that someone asked him to kill the grandmother.
His boss was said to have discovered the crime, and reported the matter to the police.
The suspect was arraigned before an Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court on one count of murder.
The charge reads, “That you, Hounvenou Yavine, on July 1, 2014 at Ijaiye Low Cost Housing Estate, Pen Cinema, Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District, did unlawfully kill one Mariam Abiola, aged 78 years, by stabbing her with a knife on her throat and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.”
The police prosecutor, Inspector Asup Feddy, applied for the remand of the defendant in prison pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
He said, “The defendant has actually confessed to the crime and the knife he used in committing the crime has been taken as an exhibit.”
The defence counsel, Imelda Adebambo, however appealed to the court to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the matter, adding that the alleged exhibit had not been recovered by the police.
The Magistrate, E.O. Ogunkanmi, upheld the remand application.
“It is only the High Court that has the power to grant bail in a matter of this nature. The application for remand of the prosecution counsel is hereby granted. The defendant is to be remanded pending legal advice from the DPP. The case file is also to be duplicated,” he said.
The matter was adjourned till September 8, 2014 for legal advice.
