Court Remands Carpenter Over Murder

A carpenter, Awele Ukpor, has been confined to the Correctional Center in Ikoyi, Lagos after he was accused of killing a woman identified as Joy Onyekachi, whom he met at a restaurant in Ajangbadi.

Sources revealed at the Yaba Magistrates’ Court that the duo met at the restaurant on November 19 and engaged in a dialogue, the deceased stating that she lost her job recently. Ukpor offered to take her home for an amorous session and promised to give her N60,000 to start up a business.

However, after he had spent the night with her, he offered her N20,000, which was not the initial agreement and while she expressed disgruntlement over the amount given to her, the suspect allegedly hit an iron basin on her head, and she died.

Ukpor, 54, afterwards sought the help of a scrap collector who helped him bury the victim in a shallow grave behind an abandoned bakery.

Police prosecutor, Chekwube Okeh read the charge, “That you, Awele Ukpor, November 19, 2023, at Jelli Close, Ajangbadi, Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District, did unlawfully kill the deceased, Joy Onyekachi, aged 24 years, by hitting an iron basin on her head and thereafter secretly buried the corpse in a shallow grave and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 222 and punishable under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”

Okeh, told the court that the offence committed by the defendant was contrary to Section 222 and punishable under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The plea of the defendant was not taken.

Okeh prayed the court to remand the defendant to the correctional centre pending the outcome of legal advice from the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, DPP.

Granting the request of the prosecutor, Magistrate Linda Balogun remanded the defendant to the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending legal advice from the DPP.

She also adjourned the cases till January 24, 2023.