Widow tells court how her husband was killed by robbers

A widow yesterday told an Ikeja High Court how her 51-year-old husband, Toye Makanjuola, was killed by armed robbers who stormed their Igbogbo, Ikorodu home, in Lagos sometime in 2016. Mrs. Olawumi Makanjuola was testifying against one of the alleged armed robbers – Akin Ayotunde – who is facing trial for armed robbery. She said […]

A widow yesterday told an Ikeja High Court how her 51-year-old husband, Toye Makanjuola, was killed by armed robbers who stormed their Igbogbo, Ikorodu home, in Lagos sometime in 2016.

Mrs. Olawumi Makanjuola was testifying against one of the alleged armed robbers – Akin Ayotunde – who is facing trial for armed robbery.

She said members of her family want justice to serve as deterrent to other criminals.

She told the court that the defendant was one of the hoodlums that came to her home on the night of 22nd July, 2016 at about 9:30pm and left around 5:00am the next day.

“I was watching television with my husband and our daughter rushed in and said some people have entered the house. The men came in and ordered everyone to lie down and surrender ourselves. They carried knives and other dangerous weapons. My husband and daughter were beaten in my presence,” she said.

The matter was first reported at Igbogbo police station before it was taken over by SARS and later State CID, Panti, Yaba

She said that one of the gang members started to manhandle her husband, beating him up and asked for ATM cards and the pin.

She said that they were later taken into separate rooms in the house while her husband was left with them in the sitting room.

According to her, the robbers collected about N480,000 and her trinkets as well as a Jeep before they left at 5am after ransacking everywhere.

During the eight hours the robbers spent in the house, she said that at a point when the fuel finished in their generator, she heard her husband’s head being banged on the wall when he asked the robbers not to harm anyone since they have collected their money and properties.

She informed the court that after a while she could no longer hear her husband’s voice and when the robbers left, they rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was rejected but on getting to the General Hospital, he was confirmed dead.

She told the court that the defendant was arrested by the police during another robbery operation, adding that the defendant’s picture was also captured by the CCTV camera at the ATM machine where he went to draw with the ATM card.

Further hearing has been fixed for April 8, 2019.