By Peter Omopo
The Lagos State Government has opened its case against Benjamin Nnayereugo, popularly known as Killaboi, over the alleged murder of his 21-year-old girlfriend, Augusta Onuwabhagbe, who was killed in July 2023.
Nnayereugo, who fled the country after the incident and later released a video purportedly confessing to the crime, pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned in November 2025.
He is facing a two-count charge of murder and indecent interference with a corpse for allegedly cutting open the victim’s stomach and removing parts of her body. The offences are said to contravene Sections 165 and 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The trial began about ten months after the defendant was extradited to Nigeria following two years on the run. During that period, he reportedly moved through several regions before he was eventually apprehended in Doha, Qatar.
At the hearing on Wednesday, the prosecution led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Babajide Martins, presented its first witness before Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court sitting at Igbosere.
The witness, Reginald Okonye, told the court that he accompanied his sister, Cordelia Okonye, who is the mother of the deceased, to the residence of the defendant on July 15, 2023.
According to him, the victim’s mother had been unable to reach her daughter by phone, although they had been communicating through WhatsApp messages. He said it was Augusta’s friend, Oyindamola, who directed them to the defendant’s residence located at Oral Estate in Ikota, Ajah.
Okonye said they were unable to gain immediate access to the semi-detached duplex despite seeing Augusta’s car parked inside the compound and repeatedly calling her name without receiving any response.
He told the court that after reporting the matter at a nearby police station, they returned to the apartment with police officers who had obtained a search warrant. Using a ladder that they rented, he climbed upstairs to gain entry into the building.
The witness said he discovered his niece lying lifeless on the floor, bloated and in a pool of blood. He added that the police subsequently took over the scene and transported the body to a mortuary while he escorted his sister away from the location.
Okonye further told the court that a search conducted inside the defendant’s apartment revealed several personal belongings of the deceased.
During the proceedings, the witness was shown photographs of the house and images of Augusta taken at the time she was discovered. He identified the pictures in court.
Lead defence counsel Marcel Oru, SAN, informed the court that he would reserve his objections regarding the admissibility of the exhibits until a later stage of the trial.
Following a brief cross-examination, the witness was discharged.
The court adjourned the case for further hearing until Thursday, March 5.
