‘I didn’t kill my wife, dump her corpse in a stream’

An electrician, Ismaila Salau, on Tuesday told a Lagos High Court in Igbosere that he did not beat his wife to death with a pestle and dump her corpse in a stream.

Salau, 49, was arraigned in 2015 by the Lagos State Government on a one-count charge of murdering his wife, Silifat Yakubu, in 2014.

The government told Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye that the defendant committed the offence at about 11pm on October 3, 2014, at No. 18, Igbele village, in Araromi community of Badagry, Lagos State.

It said Salau killed Yakubu by hitting her on the head with a pestle and dumped her corpse in a nearby stream.

The alleged offence contravened Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

Salau pleaded not guilty.

At the resumption of trial on Tuesday, Salau opened his defence.

Led in evidence by his counsel, Mr A. A Babalola, the witness said he could not have killed his wife that night, because he was held up in traffic after running errands for a friend,

According to him, he left home around 6am and returned the following day at 4am because his friend sent him on an errand.

” I was held up in traffic until the early hours of the following morning. My car also fell into a ditch due to flood’, he told the court.

He said he phoned his wife who was visiting her parents during the Salah festivities.

Salau said when he got home, he did not see his wife and her phone was switched off.

He called his older daughter who told him that the deceased left her mother’s house since 8pm.

Salau narrated how he went for a village meeting the following day and heard about a pregnant woman who drowned in a stream.

He said: “I then told the Baale (village head) that my wife was missing. He asked me and my wife’s older brother to go to the Badagry General Hospital where the corpse was deposited to check if it was my wife.

“When I saw the corpse, I knew that that was my wife”.

During cross-examination by prosecuting counsel Jubril Kareem, Salau said he did not report his wife’s absence to the police.

He also denied making a confessional statement to the police.

Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye adjourned further hearing till April 9.