A Police Inspector attached to Ajah Police Station yesterday told a Federal High Court in Lagos how the decomposing body of 21-year-old Augusta Onuwagbagbe was discovered inside the residence of her boyfriend, Benjamin Best Nnayereugo, popularly known as Killaboi.

The witness, Inspector Odunayo Oloye (Force No. 380736), gave the account while testifying before Justice Ibironke Harrison in the ongoing murder trial of Nnayereugo.

Led in evidence by the state prosecutor, Adebayo Araba, Oloye said her involvement in the case began on July 15, 2023, following a complaint lodged by Augusta’s mother, Cecilia Onuwagbagbe.

Cecilia reported that her daughter, a student of Lead City University, Ibadan, had a disagreement with her boyfriend on July 11, 2023.

According to the witness, Augusta’s mother said she intervened and resolved the dispute but subsequently lost contact with both her daughter and Nnayereugo.

Oloye said all efforts by Cecilia to reach them proved unsuccessful, prompting her to contact Augusta’s roommate, who directed her to Nnayereugo’s residence at Oral Estate in the Ajah area of Lagos.

The witness said Cecilia noticed her daughter’s vehicle parked at the residence and subsequently reported the matter at Ajah Police Station.

“She came with her brother and her daughter’s friend. The complaint was received and I was detailed as the Investigating Police Officer,” Oloye told the court.

The inspector testified that after Cecilia volunteered a statement, they proceeded to the estate where Nnayereugo lived.

She said the estate’s security personnel joined them at the premises.

“On getting there, we saw that an upstairs window was wide open and the air conditioner was on.

“I requested a ladder, climbed it and peeped through the window. Through the corridor, I started perceiving a foul odour.

“I climbed further and entered the veranda. While perceiving the odour, I looked inside and saw the lifeless body of a lady whom I identified from the photograph earlier shown to me by the mother as Augusta,” she said.

The witness said she then came down and persuaded Cecilia and Augusta’s friend to remain outside the premises.

She told the court that she subsequently asked Augusta’s uncle to climb the ladder and confirm what she had seen.

“I told him not to shout regardless of whatever he saw, and that he should simply come down and inform me.

“When he came down, he confirmed that Augusta was dead. I then advised him to take his sister and the friend home and manage the situation because he was the one driving, and to inform me when they got home,” she said.

Oloye further testified that she returned to the station to brief her Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and later revisited the scene with the DPO and a patrol team to evacuate the body.

According to her, a handwritten note and a pen were recovered during the evacuation exercise.

“I read the note and discovered it was related to the case, so I recovered it as evidence.

I also recovered the deceased’s vehicle,” she said.

The witness said Augusta’s remains were subsequently deposited at the Yaba Mortuary, while investigations continued until July 18, 2023, when the matter was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti.

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Asked how many times she visited the scene, Oloye said she went there between three and four times.

She stated that her first visit was at about 6:30 p.m., while she later returned with the DPO at about 10:30 p.m.

The inspector also told the court that, from her observation, it appeared that a sharp object had been used on Augusta’s stomach.

She identified the handwritten note in court and confirmed that it formed part of the exhibits transferred to the SCID.

When the prosecution sought to tender the document, defence counsel, Marcel Oru, objected, arguing that the note had been doctored.

Justice Harrison, however, admitted the handwritten note and its contents into evidence as Exhibits P5 and P5A.

During cross-examination, Oru challenged aspects of the witness’s testimony.

He suggested that Augusta’s mother had earlier testified that another woman, identified as Mrs Bankole, accompanied the group to the estate, making them four females.

Oloye disagreed, saying there were only three females. She also insisted that she was the only police officer who initially accompanied the family.

“On getting to the estate, the estate police joined us,” she said.

The defence lawyer also questioned whether the witness discovered Augusta’s decomposing body during her first or second visit to the residence.

“It was during the first visit,” she replied.

Oru further claimed that it was a male police officer who climbed the ladder alongside Augusta’s uncle while she remained on the ground holding it.

The witness denied the claim.

“No. I climbed first,” she said.

When the counsel pointed out that Augusta’s uncle had testified that both of them climbed together, Oloye maintained: “I climbed first, came down, then the brother climbed.”

She also agreed that she used the light from her mobile phone to view the interior of the room, indicating that the room was dark.

When shown Exhibits P5 and P5A, the witness was asked to identify any SCID registration number on the documents, which she acknowledged was absent.

She nevertheless confirmed that she handed over the key to Augusta’s vehicle to officers at the SCID.

Asked about the autopsy conducted on the deceased, Oloye said she did not come to court with any autopsy-related document and was not aware whether an autopsy report had been issued.

Following her testimony, the prosecution closed its case.

Justice Harrison thereafter adjourned the matter until July 8 and 9, 2026, for continuation of the trial. (The Guardian)

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