An herbalist, two men and a woman were arrested Monday before the Yaba Magistrates Court in Lagos for allegedly dismembering a mother of two children.
Police charged Mayowa Bamidele, 36, Kemi Azeez, 20, Oyedegun Adewale, 27, and Jejelaye Olusola, 22.
Bamidele is charged with murder and misconduct regarding dead bodies, while Azeez, Adewale, and Olusola are charged with felony cover-up and robbery.
Bamidele’s guilty plea was not accepted, however the other three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Chief Magistrate Mr. Peter Nwaka detained Bamidele at Ikoyi Correctional Center while the second to fourth defendants were granted bail in the amount of N200,000 with three guarantees in the same amount.
It ordered that the guarantees must be in gainful employment with evidence of payment of taxes to the Lagos State Government and must have their addresses and offices verified by the court.
He further argued that the guarantees must also show proof of employment and proof of their sources of income.
Nwaka adjourned the case until March 4 to obtain legal advice from the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Earlier, Police Prosecutor SP Thomas Nurudeen told the court that they committed the crime at 7:30 pm on December 16, 2021, at 17 Ijedodo Street, Ijegun area in Lagos.
He said that the deceased went to the traditional house of Bamidele for treatment.
He said the deceased called her friend to transfer money to Bamidele’s bank account and that was the last time she was seen or heard from.
Nurudeen told the court that the decedent had been reported missing for about a month.
“My Lord, the first defendant put the deceased in a pot. The second through fourth defendants helped the first defendant bury the sacks in the backyard of the house and the sheet in an unfinished building,” he said.
The deceased’s Tecno Camon phone was also discovered in his custody, he said.
The offence, he said, contravenes the provisions of sections 222, 165, 98 and 280 of the Lagos State Criminal Laws 2015. (Revised)
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that Section 223 provides for the death penalty for the crime of murder, while Section 287 is punishable by three years’ imprisonment.
Articles 98 and 165 provide for five years in prison for misconduct with respect to corpses and the crime of concealment.