"How Togolese Cook Murdered Credit Switch Boss, Ope Bademosi" - Police

The Lagos State Police Command has said that its investigation into the murder of the late Chairman of Credit Switch Technology, Opeyemi Bademosi, has revealed that his cook and prime suspect, Sunday Anani, allegedly stabbed his boss to death in his room at his Parkview Estate residence, in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, in a statement on Sunday, said Anani, single-handedly stabbed his boss to death with a kitchen knife, while attempting to rob him.

Oti stated that the 22-year-old suspect, who took advantage of his boss wife’s absence from home, allegedly broke into Bademosi’s bedroom to perpetrate the crime.

He said, “The journey that eventually ended the life of Opeyemi Bademosi, an Ondo State indigene, began in the deceased’s hometown, Ondo town, on Thursday, October 25, 2018, when one Kofi Friday, 27, returned from Togo to Nigeria and called his compatriots, including the murder suspect, Sunday Anani, 22, to his house at the Yaba area of Ondo town, where he told Anani that he had through the assistance of a friend, Agbeko Ayenahin, helped him secure a job as a cook in a rich man’s house in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State.

“The suspect was subsequently taken to the deceased’s house in Ondo State on Friday, October 26, 2018. It is important to mention that the deceased usually went home every last weekend of the month; so, on Sunday, October 28, 2018, he brought the suspect, Sunday Anani, to Lagos to start working as his cook.

“On Wednesday, October 31, 2018, the suspect, who had the intention of robbing Bademosi, had observed that the late businessman’s wife, Ebunola Bademosi, had left home for a transaction at Polaris Bank, before he made his way into his room through the kitchen to the lobby, and then to the room, which was the scene of the crime.

“According to the suspect, when he got to the deceased’s room and met him on the bed, he said,‘Chief, I am not here to kill you’; the deceased asked him, ‘What do you want?’ and he replied, ‘Money’. When the deceased said he had no money in the house, the suspect said he tied him up with a cloth and put him on the floor. He went further to say that the deceased, while still on the floor, kicked him, causing the knife he tucked inside his pants to fall off.

“He added that Bademosi crawled to pick the knife, but he (Anani) was faster; that he struggled with him and the knife accidentally pierced the deceased. He said that while exiting the room, Bademosi took the knife to stab him, so, he (Anani) kicked him and he (Bademosi) fell down. He then took the knife and stabbed him twice in the chest.”

The PPRO said a Dangote truck driver, who Anani had assisted in loading bags of cement into his truck, reportedly gave him a lift to Ondo State, where he was arrested, adding that investigation had established a case of armed robbery and murder against the suspect.

Oti added, “Investigation into the case revealed the following facts: that the incident occurred on Wednesday, October 31, 2018 around 08.10am; that the suspect committed the offence when the deceased’s wife, Mrs Ebunola Bademosi, went to Polaris Bank, Falomo branch, Lagos, for a transaction; that the suspect fled the crime scene, when he heard knocks on the kitchen door, and went to Ondo State for refuge; that the deceased’s wife entered the crime scene through the sitting room after knocking several times on the kitchen door without any response from the suspect.

“That the deceased’s wife, Ebunola Bademosi, reported the incident to the police after she found her husband in a pool of blood on October 31, 2018; that the deceased, some minutes before his death, called his wife, Ebunola Bademosi, on the phone, complaining that the suspect, Sunday Anani, barged into his bedroom uninvited; that the suspect, Sunday Anani, stabbed the deceased several times in the thoracic region; that the scene of the crime, which is the deceased’s bedroom, was scattered and stained with blood; and that after killing the deceased, the suspect stole his Samsung phone and fled to Ondo State, where he was later arrested on Friday, November 2, 2018.

“That the stolen Samsung phone was recovered from the suspect upon his arrest in Ondo State; that the kitchen knife used in killing the deceased was found inside the deceased’s toilet; that the suspect’s apron found at the scene of crime was soaked in blood; that the suspect broke down in tears and confessed to the act after he was confronted with the CCTV footage; that the suspect led the investigation team to the crime scene, demonstrating/reconstructing how he carried out the crime; that, samples recovered from the scene of the incident have been handed over to the Forensic and DNA Department of the Ministry of Justice for examination and analysis; that the autopsy report attributed the cause of death to (a) Bilateral haemothorax (b) Laceration of the lung and intercostal vessels, and (c) Multiple sharp force trauma to the chest; that the other suspects, Kofi Friday, Agbeko Ayenahin, Salisu Hussein and Nura Mamudu, are not linked to the crime.”

The PPRO said the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, had directed that the case file be duplicated and forwarded to the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for vetting and legal advice.

 “It is evident that the suspect single-handedly committed the crime by stabbing Opeyemi Bademosi to death with a kitchen knife, with intent to steal from him. To this end, the suspect (Anani) will be arraigned in court, while the other suspects, who are not linked to the crime, will be released to reliable sureties,” he added.