The wife of late Police Inspector, Adekunle Francis has told an Ikeja High Court how his colleague, a Sergeant, Ukeme Asuquo, struck him with a machete over a dispute.
Being led in evidence as first witness to commence the trial, Mrs Itunnu Adekunle, narrated to the court the genesis of the crisis that led to her husband’s death.
Asuquo, attached to the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Lagos State Police Command, allegedly attacked Inspector Francis, who was attached to the Special Protective Unit, Ikeja, with a machete in their compound at No.1 Oyedeji Close, Agbelekale in Aboru area of Lagos where they both resided and the Inspector later died at the hospital.
In her evidence, Mrs Itunnu Adekunle, said that trouble started around 8pm on June 4, 2020, when the defendant called for her attention while burning some refuse outside the compound and she declined to answer him having not given any reason why she was been summoned
The development, according to her, got the defendant angry as he locked the compound’s gate against her and efforts by co-tenant, Ayodele Eyitayo to open it for her was challenged by Asuquo which led to the dispute.
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“Upon my cry for help to gain access, my husband came down to separate Asuquo and Eyitayo and opened the gate for me. After our co-tenant went into his apartment, Asuquo went in as well but came out with machete and chased after me and my husband.
“We ran towards different direction and after a while, one of our neighbor came back to inform me where I was hiding that my husband has been struck with the machete. So I rushed to the scene and found my husband in a pool of his blood, he was rushed in tricycle to the hospital were he died on the third day and the matter was reported at Panti police station.
The prosecuting counsel, Ms. Marian Aigbedion asked if there was any grudges or quarrel between the defendant and deceased before the sadly incident, and she responded in the negative.
Subsequently another witness was led in evidence box, a co-tenant who challenged the defendant for locking the gate.
Ayodele Eyitayo in his evidence told the court that after the deceased separated the ongoing argument between him and the defendant, he went back inside his apartment.
He further stated that he later saw the defendant through his window chasing after the couple with machete and thereafter he destroyed his window net in an attempt to attack him too.
“I called the police at Ilepo station to inform them about Asuquo’s threat and the defendant ran away. So I quickly went to open the gate for the policemen and thereafter was informed that the defendant has macheted the deceased.”
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Another witness, Taiwo Oluwatuyi, told court that despite his plea of mercy with the defendant, he refused and kept on hitting the deceased with the machete.
Oluwatuyi said, “I went out to spread some clothes when I heard the wife of the deceased shouting so I approached the defendant to have mercy on the deceased. He scratched me with the weapon and charged after us. We fell by the well in my compound. The defendant met us there and began to strike the deceased with the weapon.
“Despite my plea, the defendant continued to machete the deceased. I couldn’t endure the horrible site so I ran for help and the defendant ran into their compound and shut the gate when I came back with some boys.”
After listening to the testimony of the fourth witness, a medical doctor who treated the deceased, Justice Hakeem Oshodi adjourned the matter until October 17, 2022 for continuation for trial.
Asuquo was charged with murder offence contrary to Section 223 of the Criminal Law, Ch. C17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
The charge read in part, “That you Asuquo Ukeme on or about the 4th day of June 2020 at about 20:00 hours at 1, Olajide Close, Agbelekale, Aboru, Lagos State, in the Ikeja Judicial Division, did unlawfully killed one Adekunle Ilesanmi (M) by hacking him with a machete.”
