Friday, April 24, 2026 - The mother of late 21-year-old Augusta Onuwaghagbe who was allegedly m8rdered by her boyfriend, Benjamin Best Nnayelugo AKA Killaboi, has denied claims during cross examination that her daughter was violent and unfaithful during the relationship.
Cordelia Onuwaghagbe is the second witness for the state
government prosecuting the m8rder trial, with the suspect as the sole
defendant.
At the last court sitting in March, while being led to give
her evidence-in-chief by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions,
Babajide Martins, the witness testified about episodes of violence by the
defendant on her daughter and that he had already confessed to her that he
committed the crime, before absconding.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, April 22, 2026,
the witness was called back up for cross examination.
While being asked by the lead defence counsel, Marcel Oru
(SAN), she told Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court sitting
at the JIC Courthouse, Igbosere, that the defendant visited her house regularly
while dating her daughter, but that she never knew he was a k!ller.
The deceased’s mother said the pair had first travelled to
Mauritius, when they started dating and spent about five days there.
Thereafter, she said they travelled to Seychelles for
another vacation and that it was during the nine-day trip that they had a
fight.
According to her, Augusta took up some content jobs while on
the trip, and her boyfriend helped with taking videos of her.
The witness denied the fight that ensued was because Augusta
was recording herself virtually naked, but said she was only dancing and
recording herself before the defendant collected her phone angrily and smashed
it on the floor.
She also denied her daughter destroyed hotel property during
the Seychelles trip, with the defendant paying about four thousand dollars for
the damages.
Under further cross examination, the witness denied the
deceased was dating one Melvin at the time, or indulging in hookup s3xual
relations, which allegedly led to the end of their relationship.
She added that she didn’t raise her daughter that way.
The witness further said that the defendant took the iPhone
he bought for the deceased after allegedly k!lling her. she also denied her
daughter st@bbed him during a fight, saying the wound on his hand was self
inflicted during his attack on the deceased, that led to her death.
When asked whether she knew that the defendant paid the
deceased’s school fees twice in 2022 and 2023, totalling more than N1.2m, she
said she didn’t know.
Ms. Onuwaghagbe also told the court that the defendant gave
her monies totaling N1.175m as gifts at various intervals.
”On December 8, 2021 upon their return form their
trip, he gave me N60,000. On July 27, 2022, I posted online that I needed a
phone for my ministry, he sent me N100,000, another person sent N100,000 and
another sent N20,000. In Jan. 2023, he gave me N15,000 to buy recharge card.
Later, he sent one million naira to my account, saying my prayers for him were
working and that his business was booming," she said.
"But, I didn’t spend it and saved it in the cooperative
instead. Later in November 2023, someone reached out to tell me he knows where
my daughter’s killer is but that I must pay him. So I forwarded the one million
naira to the person.”
Hearing continues today, Thursday, April 23. The defendant
is charged with two counts of Onuwagjagbe's murder, which he has pleaded not
guilty to.
Augusta, the second child of her single mother was a 400
level student studying Medical Laboratory Sciences at the Lead City University,
Ibadan, Oyo state and was an online influencer before her d3ath in July 2023.
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