The public has been cautioned by Ikeja High Court Judge Hakeem Oshodi to cease leaving charms in his courtroom.
The caution was issued by Judge Oshodi on Monday, the first day of the trial for five individuals accused of killing Ifeanyi Etunmuse.
Charms should not be left in my courtroom by anyone. It ought not to happen again. Following the most recent delayed date in the murder case, a talisman was discovered, he stated.
“Do not leave your property here again,” the judge cautioned the court audience, referring to the charm as “property.” It is no longer functional.
The Lagos State Government filed charges against Atunrase Omolabi, Shittu Olawale, Olaide Opeifa, Olanrewaju Adebiyi nicknamed Maja, and Jamiu Omosanya alias Orobo.
At Western Funeral Home in Ijede, Ikorodu, they were accused of killing Ifeanyi Etunmuse and attempting to kill her.
The defense team continued to cross-examine Babatunde Olayinka, a prosecution witness, earlier in the trial.
Olayinka was questioned if he could state that the defendants were involved in the attack on the dead by Olanrewaju Ajanaku, the main defense attorney for the first, second, and third defendants, as well as the fifth defendant later on.
Additionally, he inquired as to whether he had been able to see Oluwatosin Onamade, a local lawmaker and burial services entrepreneur,’s compound from where he was hiding after the claimed attack.
On April 16, 2021, the day of the incident, the witness told the court, he observed some individuals brandishing machetes at the Onamade complex, so he took cover in the cemetery and laid down for a bit.
The witness also testified in court that he turned back as he was hiding from the men brandishing machetes and noticed a dead corpse next to him.
“Can you say emphatically that the first, second, third, and fifth defendant had anything to do with the body you saw?” Ajanaku questioned the witness.
In response, the witness stated that he was unable to categorically state that the defendants were involved in any way with the corpse.
The prosecution witness was being cross-examined by the defense attorney for the fourth defendant, Mahmud Adesina. He was asked if he had previously informed the court that Femi Onamade, an Oluwatosin Onamade cousin, was the one who had firsthand knowledge of the defendants.
Olayinka said that Oluwatosin was able to identify the defendants, and Femi was the one who knew them.
Mr. M. T. Adewoye, the prosecution’s attorney, questioned the witness again and urged him to elaborate on his prior statement to the court stating that he was unable to identify the defendants.
Olayinka said in court that he did saw the individuals with the machetes as they entered the complex.
Adewoye asked the judge to call Femi Onamade as a witness so that she may appear in court.
The judge then summoned Femi Onamade to testify.
The issue was postponed by the judge until February 19, 2024, so that the trial may continue.
The prosecution had claimed that the suspects had also severed Femi Onamade’s wrist, Tosin Onamade’s younger brother, in an earlier court appearance on April 6.
