Symphorosa
Otike-Odibi, the 50 year-old lawyer who was allegedly stabbed to death by his
wife, Udeme, also a lawyer, was found on his matrimonial bed with his genitals
and intestines cut off on May 3rd, 2018 at his home in Lagos.
Two siblings of the
lawyer and his friend gave the graphic details in testimonies before the court
on Monday.
Udeme Otike-Odibi, his
wife, a 48-year-old lawyer, was on June 13, arraigned by the Lagos State
Government on a two-count charge of murder and misconduct with regard to a
corpse before an Igbosere High Court in Lagos.
She pleaded not guilty
and was remanded in Kirikiri Prison.
At the resumed hearing
of the case on Monday, Symphorosa’s friend and neighbour, Mr Stanley
Grange-Koko, was led in evidence by the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Mr
Adeniji Kazeem (SAN).
He told the court how
the deceased’s younger sister, Dr Anwuli Akwukwuma, called him at 2.00am on May
2, to go to the deceased’s (Symphorosa) house and check what was happening.
Grange-Koko said he
rushed out of his car but could not gain access to the compound because no one
answered when he knocked the gate and called out the deceased’s name several
times.
Grange-Koko said he
went back to his house but rushed back to the deceased’s house the second time
when Akwukwuma called him back.
“Dr Akwukwuma called
me back and said I should go back to the deceased house because it seems life
is involved.
“At this point, I went
with my wife, also called the estate security men, we had to climb the fence
into the deceased compound.
“We also broke down the
front door to gain access to the house because no one answered our several
knocks,” he said.
Grange-Koko said that
he ran upstairs and saw blood on the floor, adding that he followed the blood
trail to the bathroom and to the deceased room.
He said both he and
the security men had to break the door to the deceased’s room.
“I saw the deceased
lying on his bed with his wife (the defendant) lying beside him and there was
blood everywhere.
“The deceased
intestines were outside, I ran out and met the deceased sister coming up to the
room, I tried to stop her from entering the room but she ran past me and
entered,” Grange-Koko said.
He said the deceased
sister ran out of the room shouting that her brother was dead but the defendant
was breathing.
Grange-Koko said the
defendant was however taken to hospital for further valuation.
After Grange-Koko’s
evidence, the second witness, Dr Akwukwuma was called.
She narrated exactly
what Grange-Koko had told the court but added that she called Grange-Koko because
he was living in the same estate with the deceased and was a family friend to
the deceased.
Akwukwuma also added
that she got the information about the problem through her mother whom the
deceased called earlier to complain that his wife was hitting him and had a
knife.
She added “when I got
to the deceased house and saw him lying on his bed with his intestines out, I
checked him and saw that he was already cold and stretched out.
“I noticed that he had
died for hours and he was holding something in his arm but I couldn’t see what
it was because he was already stiff.
“The police told me
that it was his genitals that he was holding and asked me if there was another
person in the room when I got there, I answered no,” Akwukwuma narrated.
The prosecutor also
called a third witness, a younger brother to the deceased, Mr Andrew
Otike-Odibi, who narrated the same story.
After listening to the
three witnesses, Justice Adedayo Akintoye adjourned further hearing until Oct.
10.
The News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prosecutor had during arraignment told the court
that the Udeme committed the offences on May 3, at Diamond Estate, Sangotedo,
Lekki, Lagos.
He said that Udeme
stabbed her husband and mutilated his corpse by cutting his genitals.
The offences
contravened Sections 165 (b) and 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Section 165 (b)
provides five years imprisonment while Section 223 stipulates death penalty for
offenders.
Symphorosa
Otike-Odibi has since been laid to rest.
NAN
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