Lagos Murder: Court Remands Alleged Killer Nurse in Prison

An Ebute Metta Magistrate Court in Lagos has refused the bail plea of a murder suspect, Folashade Idoko, a nurse  standing trial for allegedly killing her husband, Lawrence Idoko on 20^th August 2017.

In her ruling in a murder case charge number Q/99/2017 Commissioner of Police versus Folashade Idoko, Magistrate K. A. Ariyo refused the bail application and asked the accused to be remanded in custody till Thursday 28^th September when the case would resume for hearing in court.

The charge reads “That you Folashade Idoko ‘f’ on 20^th August 2017 at about 00:30hrs at No.2, Ganiyu Close, Aiyetoro, Ijanikin, Lagos in the Lagos State Magisterial District did unlawfully killed your husband, one Lawrence Idoko ‘M’ age 33 years old by stabbing him on his right thigh with kitchen knife and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 223 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

Counsel to the accused argued before the court that the incident that led to the death of Lawrence Idoko was an accident in the matrimonial home.

“It was an accident in the matrimonial home and there is a little child in this marriage (actually two children). If the bail application is not upheld it means the child would be left alone.”

He argued further that the suspect did not mean to hurt her husband but after a drag between both parties the knife injured the victim and he died. He however hoped the court would grant the defendant a bail after studying the case.

“The court has the ability to look into the case file to determine if it is a murder charge. The accused wouldn’t have meant to kill her husband by stabbing him on the thigh,” he said.

Magistrate Mrs. H.O. Omisore standing for Miss K.A. Ariyo however asked the Investigative Police Officer attached to the case to talk on his investigations.

The IPO, Inspector Akpan Nseyo narrated his findings before the court.

“There was a squabble between the husband and the wife and there was a young lady in the house as at the time. I recovered the knife and a towel used to tie the injury from the crime scene,” he said, adding that, the accused raised the alarm and the victim was rushed to the hospital where he later died due to loss of blood.”

Counsel to the accused also argued that his client couldn’t have planned to kill her husband.

However, the Prosecutor, ASP Moses U.A. picked holes in the defense lawyer’s argument that the accused may not have wanted to kill by stabbing the victim’s thigh. According to him, the accused doesn’t need to have an intention to kill but the act of stabbing is injurious and can cause death which eventually happened.

“There cannot be bail term until the cross examination is done,” Moses submitted and the suspect was ordered to be remanded.

The late Lawrence Idoko was on the 20^th of August at about 12:30am stabbed by his wife in their matrimonial bedroom and bled profusely before being rushed to a hospital where he died after losing so much blood.

The autopsy carried out on the corpse at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital 14^th September read among other comments that there was a ‘blunt trauma, pierced veins and hemorrhage.’

The remains of the deceased have since been buried in Benue State on the 16^th of September 2017. He was survived by his both parents, grandparents, relatives, siblings and two children ages three and one.