Man wants justice for slain daughter

A 70-year-old man, Johnson Agbobomye, has called for justice in the alleged murder of his daughter, Endurance, by her husband, Isaac Ajisegiri.

The Isoko South, Edo State indigene told PUNCH Metro, “If there is anything called justice in this country, I want it for my daughter.”

PUNCH Metro had reported in April, 2013 that Endurance and Isaac had been married for four years, but the union had been fraught with disagreement over the issue of infidelity.

Our correspondent had reported that the couple had another quarrel which had been settled by a family friend when hostility suddenly erupted in their home on Ajani Salawu Street, Shasha, Lagos State.

The police authorities had told PUNCH Metro that in the ensuing scuffle, Isaac allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and slit his wife’s throat.

Endurance was reportedly rushed to a hospital where she died.

It was learnt that the hospital management alerted the police who then rounded up Isaac; his mother, Florence; and sister, Esther.

They were all arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court on charges bothering on murder.

The Chief Magistrate, S.O. Solebo, had adjourned the matter for legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

The DPP’s advice, which had been released – a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent – stated that Isaac should be charged with murder, while his sister, Esther, should be charged with accessory to the crime.

The suspect’s mother was discharged and acquitted for lack of evidence to link her with the offence.

The legal advice read in part, “Facts available in the case file revealed that the deceased spent the night in the same house with her husband, her sister-in-law, her mother-in-law and a friend of the family before she was allegedly found dead by her husband.

“The deceased was lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor with a slit throat.

“It must be noted that Isaac provided two inconsistent statements to the police. In his first statement given two days after the incident, he stated that he slept in the living room throughout the night. In a subsequent statement however, he stated that he slept in the same room with the deceased until about 4am. This inconsistency raised some doubt as to the veracity of his entire statement.”

The advice added that Isaac’s sister was sighted washing off the blood stains in the kitchen where the deceased was found after she was taken to the hospital, which made her accessory after the fact of murder.

It concluded that the two should be arraigned before the Lagos State High Court due to the evidences which connected them with the crime.

The matter is slated for hearing on June 24, 2014.

The deceased father said his daughter’s death had left him in pain, adding that she had yet to be buried since the incident.

He said, “She’s still lying there at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital morgue so that the facts would not be twisted.

“I want justice. I cannot express the pain I feel each time I remember that she is gone; it’s an everlasting pain because she was my last daughter. She’s been the one taking care of me. I want the authorities to know what is going on.”