How My Neighbour Killed My Son – Witness

A grieving mother, Mrs
Idayat Erikitola, last Thursday told an Ikeja High Court how her neighbour, Patrick Onyeka, abducted and strangled her son to death in Ikotun area of Lagos.
Erikitola gave the narrative while testifying before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye at the commencement of Onyeka’s trial.
Our correspondent reports that Onyeka was arraigned on May 15 by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on a charge of murder.
The DPP alleged that he lured the eight-year-old boy into his residence at Plot 14, 3rd Avenue, Mulmaco Estate, Ikotun, Lagos, on January 12, 2013 and murdered him.
He is also alleged to have thereafter demanded a ransom of N5 million from the boy’s parents, before he was arrested by the police.
Led in evidence by the state prosecutor, Mr Akin George, the witness, whose testimony was translated from Yoruba to English Language, said she had four children and Ayuba was the last.
Erikitola said the defendant lived on the same street with her and she knew him very well.
“He has been living very close to us with his elder brother. Their compound has four flats and shares the same fence with my house,” she said.
The witness said on the day of the incident, she left Ayuba at home and went to the market.
According to her, when she came back, she could not find the child and she became agitated because it was getting late.
Erikitola said some of her neighbours, including the defendant and his brother’s wife, joined in the search for her son, which yielded no positive result.
She said one of her sons later discovered a note stuck on their gate, which was addressed to Alhaji (her husband) demanding for a N5 million ransom.
The witness said the note was later shown to some of the neighbours, including the defendant’s brother and his wife, who both feigned ignorance of the handwriting.
“The next morning, a young girl living in their compound called Favour saw me and she ran inside; so, I became suspicious.
“Later, we went to the police station and I told the policemen that the occupants of that house may be behind Ayuba’s abduction,” she said.