The 22-year-old Togolese cook, Sunday Adefonou Anani, who was arrested over the murder of Ope Bademosi, Chairman of Credit Switch Technology, has admitted to killing the businessman after Police confronted him with closed-circuit television, CCTV, evidence.
He had earlier said four unidentified persons broke into the residence of the deceased on the day he was killed.
Anani confessed to sneaking into Bademosi’s room and stabbing him twice on the chest after a failed attempt to rob him.
According to a source, Anani said he made his way to the boss room through the kitchen, when he observed that the woman of the house, Mrs Ebunola Bademosi, had left for a transaction in a bank at Falomo.
According to the suspect, when he got to the deceased room and met him on the bed, he said: “Chief I am not here to kill you.” The deceased asked him “what do you want” and he replied “money.” The deceased said he had no money in the house.
At that point, the suspect said he tied him up with a cloth and put him on the floor. He went further to say that the deceased, while still on the floor, kicked him causing the kitchen knife he tucked inside his pants to fall off.
He added that the deceased crawled to pick the knife but he, suspect, was faster; that as he struggled with Bademosi the knife accidentally pierced the deceased.
The suspect, Sunday, said while he was exiting the room, the deceased took the knife and attempted to stab him. Sunday kicked him and he fell. He then took the knife and stabbed Bademosi twice on the chest, in addition to the initial three knife wounds.
When he was done killing the man, the suspect entered his bathroom and threw away his bloodstained apron and the kitchen knife.
He, thereafter, heard a knock on the kitchen door. Sensing it must be the deceased’s wife, Sunday ran out of the room and exited from the sitting room door.
Escape
The suspect said: “As I was leaving the house, the guard, Nura Mamudu, confronted me. He asked me where I was hurrying to and I told him that madam sent me on an errand.
“When I got to the street, I met some men loading cement into a truck. I assisted them and they rewarded me with a lift to Ondo State. The driver also gave me N500 in appreciation.”
Police recreates crime
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State, CSP Chike Oti, said: “The investigation into the case revealed that the incident occurred October 31 at about 8:10a.m., when the deceased’s wife, Mrs Ebunola Bademosi, went to the Falomo branch of a bank for a transaction.
“The deceased, some minutes before his death, called his wife, Ebunola Bademosi, on phone, complaining that the suspect, Sunday Adefonou Anani, barged into his bedroom uninvited.”
Oti said the scene of the crime, which is the deceased bedroom, was scattered and stained with blood.
His words: “After killing the deceased, the suspect stole his phone and fled to Ondo State, where he was later arrested November 2. The stolen phone was recovered from the suspect upon his arrest.
“The kitchen knife used in killing the deceased was found inside the deceased’s toilet and the suspect’s apron found at the scene of the crime, soaked with blood.
“The suspect broke down in tears and confessed to the act after he was confronted with evidence of the CCTV footage. He led the investigation team to the crime scene demonstrating/reconstructing how he carried out the crime.”
Investigation
The Police image-maker added that samples recovered from the scene of the incident have been handed over to the Forensic and DNA Department of Ministry of Justice for examination and analysis.
He added that “the autopsy report attributed the cause of death to Bilateral Haemothorax, Laceration of the lung and intercostal vessels and multiple sharp force traumas to the chest.
“Investigation has established a prima facie case of armed robbery/murder of one Opeyemi Bademosi, male, aged 67, against Sunday Adefonou Anani, male, aged 22.
“It is evident that the suspect single-handedly committed the crime by stabbing Mr. Opeyemi Bademosi to death with a kitchen knife with intent to steal from him.
“To this end, the suspect will be arraigned in court while the other suspects, who are not linked to the crime, will be released to reliable sureties.”
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Imohimi Edgal, has directed that the case file be duplicated and forwarded to the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, DPP, for vetting and legal advice.
