Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos High Court has continued hearing the case involving two domestic workers, Abigail Peter and Olusegun Olatunji, who are standing trial for the alleged murder of their employer, Aribim Ajumogobia.
Ajumogobia was the daughter of a Federal High Court judge, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia. Her father, Soboma Ajumogobia, is the brother of a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) and fourth prosecution witness, DSP Gafar Oderinde, presented a video recording showing the two suspects shortly after their arrest.
The court viewed the footage, after which the officer outlined the outcome of the police investigation. He told the court that the body of the deceased, Chuchu Ajumogobia, was discovered at the entrance gate of her parents’ residence in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The officer further stated that the estate’s security guard, Umaru Mohammed, had been poisoned with an unidentified substance that caused him to fall asleep. He also revealed that the security dog was tied up, preventing it from raising an alarm during the incident.
According to the witness, laptops, human hair, and other items recovered from the suspects have been kept in the police exhibit room, while clothing stained with blood found at the scene has been sent for forensic DNA analysis.
Justice Harrison subsequently adjourned the case until March 12 for the cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness.
How it began
Investigations revealed that the first and second defendants — Abigail, 21, the deceased’s housemaid, and Olatunji, 35, the deceased’s driver — allegedly conspired to murder their employer, Chuchu, 37, by stabbing her with scissors.
The alleged crime was said to have occurred on July 30, 2024, at about 11 pm.
On February 10, 2025, the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Babajide Martins, filed a two-count charge against Abigail Peters and Olusegun Olatunji.
Both defendants were arraigned in April 2025, where they pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A forensic pathologist from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Sunday Soyemi, testified as the first prosecution witness and presented the post-mortem report.
The deceased’s brother, Awonaribo Ajumogobia, 33, who testified as the second prosecution witness, told the court that he received a phone call from one of the defendants, Olusegun Olatunji, informing him that his sister was dead at their parents’ residence.
He said he immediately went to the house and found her body outside the compound. He added that the corpse was later moved to Mainland General Hospital in Yaba for preservation and an autopsy.
Inspector Tope Ijatuyi of the Ikoyi Police Division testified as the third prosecution witness, providing details of the preliminary investigation carried out on the day of the incident.