The defence in the murder trial of 21-year old Augusta Onuwabhagbe opened its case on Thursday before Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court, sitting at the JIC Taylor Courthouse, Igbosere. The deceased’s boyfriend, Benjamin Nnayereugo also known as Killaboi, at whose residence the deceased’s corpse was found……
The defence in the murder trial of 21-year old Augusta Onuwabhagbe opened its case on Thursday before Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court, sitting at the JIC Taylor Courthouse, Igbosere.
The deceased’s boyfriend, Benjamin Nnayereugo also known as Killaboi, at whose residence the deceased’s corpse was found in July 2023, is the sole defendant in the case.
The first defence witness to testify, a lawyer, Babs Anipasa, told the court that the defendant decided not to surrender to the police over the incident, out of fear of being a victim of a mob attack.
The witness said Killaboi who was introduced to him by an acquaintance, called him one day to say he had an argument with his girlfriend which resulted in her death.
Led in evidence by the lead defence counsel, Marcel Oru (SAN), Mr Anipasa said Killaboi accepted his advice to turn himself in and then contacted a senior police officer, Godfrey Sorowi, and they agreed that Killaboi would be picked up and handed over to the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State.
He added that in a later discussion, the defendant said it would be dangerous to turn himself in, due to the trending social media reports that he had killed his girlfriend for ritual purposes.
’He then told me he believed it would be dangerous to surrender because of a possible mob action,’ Anipasa told the court.
During cross-examination by state prosecutor Adebayo Araba, the witness admitted he could not remember when he first became aware of the case and confirmed that he never met the defendant physically during the period. He also acknowledged that he did not report to the police after learning that the defendant had fled the country and conceded that he did not advise Killaboi against refusing to surrender himself to authorities.
The defendant was the next to testify in his defence. During his examination-in-chief, he described his relationship with Augusta Onuwabhagbe as loving until disagreements over luxury cars began to strain it.
The software developer and sports bettor told the court that after purchasing a vehicle worth about N100 million for himself in January 2023 for his birthday, she requested a car from him for her birthday, which was on February 3. He said he initially offered her a 2015 Ford Mustang worth about N20 million and later his 2018 Honda Accord, but she rejected both and insisted on a Range Rover Velar valued at about N55 million. He told her that the 20million cars are already an upgrade from her car, a Mercedes Benz, which cost about 6 million, but she said she wanted the Range Rover Vela, which other influencers were using.
Nnayerugo testified that Augusta eventually asked him to give her the N20m to use for her birthday, which were used to buy a iPhone, AirPods, a dinner at a Victoria Island lounge, and a diamond jewellery piece worth $10,000.
He further told the court that when the Porsche he had ordered abroad for himself was later delivered in March, she became interested in a Mercedes-Benz the dealership borrowed them temporarily because the new car needed some body work and tinting. According to him, fresh disagreements erupted after she used the Mercedes-Benz, worth about N70 million, for her content job on Instagram.
The defendant said arguments over luxury cars became frequent and “annoying”.
Although he later promised to buy the Range Rover after her graduation, which was the next year, he said the issue resurfaced after he won N100 million on a sports betting platform and that She insisted he used part of the money to buy the Range Rover but he refused. Then she told him that if he won another betting, he should use the money to buy the desired car for her and he agreed in a bid to end the argument, but said he knew he wouldn’t do that.
He testified that another dispute arose after Augusta allegedly discovered, through a fake X (formerly Twitter) account she created to monitor his betting wins, that he had won another more than 50 million without informing her. He said she then confronted him of hiding his winnings, which he initially denied. But that, when she showed him her evidence, he claimed it was a fake win he posted to keep his X account engaged. He added that, She got angry and left his residence, for her school.
Justice Harrison adjourned the case until October 21 and 22, 2026, for continuation of his testimony.
Nnayelugo who was arraigned in November, 2025, is charged with two counts of the murder and for indecently interfering with her corpse by allegedly cutting her stomach open and removing her body parts. He pleaded not guilty to both offences, which are said to be contrary to Sections 165 and 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The defendant who had been on the run since the incident occured, was arrested in Sierra Leone in November 2023. But, following a jailbreak where he was detained, he escaped and was eventually rearrested in Qatar and extradited to Nigeria in 2025.
The deceased was a 400 level student of Medical Laboratory Sciences at the Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo state
