A Magistrate’s Court in Yaba, Lagos State, has ordered the detention of Noah Tovohome and Rajay Zannu in a correctional facility. They are accused of conspiring and murdering their friend, Segun Zusu, reportedly over a dispute involving 36 bags of rice.
The pair appeared before Magistrate Linda Balogun on Tuesday facing two charges related to murder.
In court, it was revealed that the defendants, Tovohome and Zannu, collaborated with a boat driver transporting Zusu’s goods from Seme to orchestrate his murder and steal the bags of rice.
On the specified day, they intercepted the boat around 2 am at Novo River in Seme. Using a plank, they assaulted Zusu and threw him into the river. Subsequently, they transported the rice bags to Badagry, sold them to a businesswoman for approximately N1.4 million, and divided the proceeds among themselves.
The police prosecutor, Chekwube Okeh, informed the court that the defendants committed the offense on November 12, 2023. Okeh explained that the crime violates Section 222 and is punishable under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The charges read in part, “That you, Noah Tovohome, 27, Rajay Zannu, 38 and others at large, on November 12, 2023, around 2 am, at Novo River, Seme, Lagos State, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did unlawfully kill one 26-year-old Segun Zusu, by hitting a plank on his head and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 222 and punishable under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”
The defendants did not enter pleas.
Okeh requested the court to detain them in a correctional center until the legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions is received.
Magistrate Balogun approved the request, directing that the defendants be held at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre until the legal advice from the DPP is provided.
Balogun also scheduled the case for further hearing on January 22, 2024, awaiting the advice from the DPP.