How My Daughter Was Murdered By Her Boyfriend

MOTHER of Augusta Onuwabhagbe, Cordelia Okonye, recounted in tears before a Lagos State High Court on Thursday, March 5, events leading to the death of her daughter, allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, Benjamin Best Nnayereugo, otherwise known as ‘Killaboi.’
Okonye was led in evidence by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Babajide Martins, before Justice Ibironke Harrison at the Criminal Division of the Lagos State High Court in the trial of Nnayereugo for the alleged murder of 21-year-old Augusta at his residence in Oral Estate, Ikota, Ajah, Lagos, on July 13, 2023.
Police said he fled the country after the incident and was later arrested in Doha, Qatar, in February last year, following an international manhunt involving INTERPOL.
He was extradited to Nigeria in April last year and arraigned on a two-count charge of murder and indecent interference with a body.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
While testifying, Okonye, a 56-year-old civil servant, told the court that her daughter had once sent a distress message warning that the defendant had threatened her, saying: “She said, ‘Mummy, I don’t know. Benjamin has been threatening me. He swore by his mother’s grave that he was going to show me.”
Okonye said her daughter introduced the defendant to her in 2021 after informing her that they had started a relationship, adding: “As a single mother trying to be careful, I asked her to bring him home, which she did.
“She said she loved him, so I accepted him not just as someone interested in my daughter, but as a son.”
She told the court that the relationship later showed signs of violence during their vacation in November 2022, the defendant later apologised to the family after allegedly assaulting Augusta during the trip and promised the incident would never happen again.
However, trouble started again in July 2023 when the defendant allegedly accused Augusta of planning to cheat on him.
She recounted that the defendant called her late at night on July 11, 2023, claiming he had impersonated another person online to test her daughter’s loyalty.
Shortly after the call, Augusta complained that the defendant had seized control of her Instagram account, where she worked as an influencer.
Okonye stated that she later became worried when she could no longer reach her daughter days later, and the family eventually traced Augusta to the defendant’s residence at Oral Estate in Ajah, Lagos.
“When we got there, the gate was locked, but my daughter’s car was outside,” she said, adding that after they later gained access to the house, her brother eventually informed the family the next day that Augusta had been found dead.
She told the court that the defendant subsequently posted a message online admitting he had stabbed his girlfriend during a heated argument, adding: “He said nobody should pity him and that he would turn himself in to the Police.”
He later sent her messages, including one asking her to “be strong,” noting: “I told him there was nothing my daughter did that should make you kill her.”
Justice Harrison adjourned the case until April 22 and 23, this year, for continuation of the trial, after the defence requested time to review electronic evidence served by the prosecution.