Benjamin Nnayerugo, popularly known as Killaboi, yesterday told a Lagos State High Court sitting at the Igbosere division that alleged Instagram messages suggesting his late girlfriend, Augusta Onuwaghagbe, was arranging a sexual encounter for money left him emotionally distressed and prompted a confrontation between them.

Nnayerugo, who is standing trial before Justice Ibironke Harrison over the alleged murder of Augusta, gave the account while testifying in his defence. He described how he monitored her Instagram account, allegedly uncovered conversations about a proposed meeting for payment, and eventually confronted her during a video call.

He told the court that the incident began in late June 2023 after he lost money on a sports bet and became upset. According to him, Augusta tried to console him, reminding him that he had previously won larger amounts and encouraging him not to feel discouraged. However, he said her efforts did not improve his mood.

He said Augusta was scheduled to return to school and left the following day. Because he had access to her Instagram account, he continued monitoring her conversations after she returned to school.

The defendant said he noticed that she exchanged messages with accounts belonging to people who were not her friends on the platform and later deleted the conversations.

He described the messages he initially saw as invitations to clubs and enquiries about her well-being, adding that he monitored the account for about a week without noticing anything he considered suspicious.

According to him, Augusta later mentioned plans to visit Lagos for the weekend, which he agreed to. He said he intended to log out of her account a day before her arrival so she would not discover that he had been monitoring her activities, noting that she sometimes checked his phone when he was around.

However, he said that a day before the proposed visit, he noticed a message from an account identified as “Yako”. The sender reportedly addressed Augusta affectionately, explained that he had deactivated his Snapchat account and asked to continue their conversation on Instagram.

Nnayerugo told the court that the sender asked when Augusta would visit Lagos, to which she allegedly replied that she could come whenever he wanted. He said the conversation later turned to a discussion about a price, with Augusta reportedly insisting that she would not reduce her rate.

He further testified that the sender complained about the lengthy exchange and asked her to move the conversation to WhatsApp.

The defendant said he became suspicious and decided to investigate further. He told the court that he used the phone number shared in the conversation to obtain a virtual SIM card, created a WhatsApp account using the sender’s name and profile picture, and continued the conversation while pretending to be Yako.

According to him, he asked Augusta to remind him of the price, and she allegedly quoted N1.5 million. He said he offered N800,000, but she rejected the amount, explaining that she would be taking a significant risk.

He said he subsequently asked whether the proposed meeting would take place in a hotel or an apartment. Augusta allegedly replied that either option was acceptable, provided he sent the location.

Nnayerugo said he later offered N1 million, which she also rejected. He claimed he eventually agreed to pay the N1.5 million she demanded, but proposed that they have sex without a condom, adding that he was willing for both of them to undergo tests beforehand. He told the court that she agreed to the proposal.

The defendant said the exchange convinced him that the discussion concerned a sexual encounter for payment, although he had initially been uncertain about the purpose of the money. He described himself as shaking and experiencing an emotional breakdown as the conversation unfolded.

He said he considered sending the money through a friend and arranging a hotel meeting where he could confront Augusta. However, he abandoned the idea, reasoning that he did not need to spend such an amount to establish whether his girlfriend was cheating on him.

He said he instead decided to end the relationship and confront her with the messages.

According to Nnayerugo, he initiated a video call, which Augusta answered. He claimed she screamed and dropped the phone when she saw him on the screen.

He said he confronted her over the alleged arrangement, told her that he knew what she was doing, and declared their relationship over. He also threatened to inform her mother about the messages.

The defendant told the court that he had a close relationship with Augusta’s mother, whom he described as a pillar in their relationship. He said she often prayed for him and that he sometimes attended her church.

He said he tried to reach her for about 20 minutes before eventually getting through. During their conversation, he explained what he had discovered and informed her that he had ended the relationship.

According to him, Augusta’s mother challenged his decision to access her daughter’s account, saying it was wrong and constituted a criminal offence.

Nnayerugo said he was upset by her response and explained that his intention was to inform her of the breakup, not to discuss how he accessed the account. He said she told him she would speak with her daughter, but he reiterated that this was not why he had called before ending the conversation.

Later, defence counsel, Marcel Oru, raised concerns about playing a video recording the defence intended to present in court in the presence of Augusta’s mother and brother, saying he did not want to cause them further emotional distress.

He asked the court to consider allowing the family members to leave while the recording was played, with only the lawyers involved in the case remaining in the courtroom.

The prosecutor, Adebayo Araba, did not oppose the proposal, describing it as a good plan.

Oru clarified that the recording had not yet been tendered as evidence and that his concern was to avoid inflicting additional pain on the deceased’s family.

Justice Harrison indicated that the request could be considered if the parties agreed.

She subsequently adjourned the proceedings until 10:00 a.m. today. (Guardian)