It was a chilling court proceedings on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 when Reginald Okonye, the first prosecution witness in the alleged murder trial of Benjamin Best Nnayereugo, know as Killaboi, gave an account of how the body of Augusta Onuwabhagbe was discovered in his apartment.
The proceedings was before Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court in Igbosere.
The defendant is standing trial for allegedly killing 21-year-old Augusta Onuwabhagbe sometimes in July 2023.
The Lagos State government opened its case against the defendant with the first prosecution witness 10 months after his extradition to Nigeria, following two years of being on the run, traversing multiple regions before he was finally captured in Doha, Qatar.
The defendant is charged with two counts of murder and for indecently interfering with the corpse by allegedly cutting her stomach open and removing her body parts.
Both offences are said to be contrary to Sections 165 and 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
What prosecution witness told court
At the commencement of trial, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins led the prosecution witness, Reginald Okonye to give evidence.
The witness told the court that he took his sister, Cordelia Okonye, who is the mother of the deceased to the house of the defendant who was the late Augusta’s boyfriend on July 15, 2023.
According to the witness, the deceased’s mother had been unable to reach her daughter on phone, though they were chatting on WhatsApp.
He said it was Augusta’s friend, Oyindamola who led them to the defendant’s residence located within Oral Estate, Ikota, Ajah.
He also stated that they couldn’t immediately gain access to the semi detached duplex, despite sighting her car parked inside the compound and calling her name with no response.
He added that upon filing a case at the nearby police station, they returned to the apartment with officers who had gotten a search warrant and that with a ladder they rented, he climbed upstairs to enter the building. Upon sighting his niece, lying down lifeless, looking bloated and in a pool of blood, he said the police took over and took the corpse to the mortuary while he took his sister away.
When he was shown pictures of the house and the late Augusta at the time she was found, he identified them.
The lead defence counsel, Marcel Oru (SAN) said he would defer his objections over the admissibility of the exhibits till later.
After a brief cross examination, the witness was discharged.
The witness explained that a search of the defendant’s apartment reveals several personal items of the deceased in it.
Recall that the defendant fled the country and later released a video purportedly confessing to the crime and had pleaded not guilty to the alleged offences when he was arraigned in November, 2025.
Further hearing is fixed till Thursday, March 5, 2026.
