Cynthia Osokogu’s murder carefully planned – Police

An Investigative Police Officer, Inspector Joseph Edo, on Friday told
an Ikeja High Court in Lagos State that the murder of Cynthia Osokogu
was carefully planned and executed.
Edo said this while testifying at the resumption of the trial of four
persons charged with the murder.
The accused, Okwumo Nwabufo 33; Olisaeloka Ezike, 23; Orji Osita, 33;
and Ezike Nonso, 25, were charged to court by the Lagos State
Government.
They allegedly chained and strangled 25-year-old Osokogu to death at
Cosmilla Hotel, FESTAC Town, Lagos, on July 22, 2012.
Edo, who was led-in-evidence by the Attorney-General of Lagos State,
Ade Ipaye, said that Osokogu was murdered in Room 1C of Cosmilla
Hotel.
He said that the police began investigations immediately they received
the report of the murder.
The witness said that after thorough investigation, the second accused(Ezike) was apprehended in Awka, Anambra State.
According to Edo, the arrest of Ezike led to the arrest of the first
accused (Nwabufo) at his residence in FESTAC.
The witness said that the police later discovered that the accused
persons had carefully planned and executed the murder of Osokogu, whom
they met on Facebook, a social networking site.
Edo said that Nwabufo instructed Ezike to purchase the chain with
which they tied the deceased after drugging her with Rophynol tablets.
He said that Ezike bought the drug from Osita, a pharmacist and the
third accused.
The police officer said the accused ground the tablets into a powder,
put it into a pack of Ribena drink and gave Osokogu to drink.
He said: “After we arrested the first and second accused, we checked
their mobile phones and saw the correspondence between them.
“There was a photograph from Ezike confirming that he had purchased the chain.”
The witness said that Nwabufo accused Ezike of strangling Osokogu to
death at the Area E Police Command, FESTAC.
Edo said: “Nwabufor confronted Ezike at the station, saying: ‘Why did
you bring me to the police to arrest me? Why didn’t you tell them you
strangled the lady to death?'”
Edo added that Ezike confessed that after killing Osokogu, he placed
her international passport on her chest and took pictures of it with
his mobile telephone.
Edo said: “He (Ezike) told us (police) how he transferred the pictures from his BlackBerry to a laptop, and showed us the pictures which were also on the laptop.”
He said that the police also recovered some items belonging to the
deceased at Ezike’s residence.
He said that the items included an international passport and a
driver’s licence issued in the deceased’s name, a vibrator, jewellery, a pair of shoes and two bags.
The police officer said that the fourth accused (Nonso) was later
arrested after he sold one of Osokogu’s Blackberry telephone sets to a man in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
The court admitted the recovered items as Exhibits P3 to P13.
Justice Olabisi Akinlade adjourned the case till July 5 for
continuation of trial.