The family of the late Abimbola Martins Ogbonna are doing everything within their power to get justice for their daughter and sister.
Determined to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion, Nigeriacrime.com gathered that the family is ready to bring 10 witnesses before the Coroner sitting at Epe, Lagos, to prove that Ikechukwu Ogbonna killed his wife.
The Coroner is expected to sit tomorrow January 24, 2023.
According to the family’s lawyer Odiana Eriata, witness statement on oath has already been filed and presented to the court with applications to subpoena various agencies and individuals who knew about the unhealthy relationship and abuse suffered by the deceased.
Apart from the Coroner, the lawyer who is not comfortable with the spate of investigation and handling of the case is therefore calling for the intervention of the Inspector General of Police.
This is contained in a fresh petition submitted to the office of the Inspector General of Police.
In the petition, Odiana Eriata also raised an alarm that the mother of the deceased, Mrs Ebele Comfort Martins is now a subject of harassment from the Police due to the alleged influence of the deceased husband, Ikechukwu who according to the lawyer is a principal suspect in the case.
He said, “That Ikechukwu Ogbonna has been abusing Late Mrs Abimbola Ogbonna and her children during the subsistence of the marriage and before Late Mrs Abimbola Ogbonna’s death to the extent of inflicting injury on her nose, face and other parts of her body. The family will avail the police of both visual and documentary evidence during the investigation.”
“That at some point the mother of the deceased Mrs Ebele Comfort Martins request her daughter should bring the children to the house, and the case was reported to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency and later referred to the Divisional Police Station at Ajah and the Late Abimbola was also referred to the agencies in-house psychologist.”
Stating further, he said, “That late Mrs Abimbola Ogbonna was also assigned a lawyer by the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency to file for a restraining order against Ikechukwu Ogbonna and to protect the deceased from further abuse and violence.”
He told the IGP that Late Mrs Abimbola Ogbonna later called her mom after three days that nothing was being done in her case at the Divisional Police Station Ajah and the mother Mrs Ebele Comfort Martins had to follow her to the Police Station and they met the IPO (Investigating Police Officer) who took them to the DPO.
“After meeting the DPO, they were asked to go back to the IPO who called Ikechukwu Ogbonna but he refused to pick up his calls. The IPO later called the Mopol (Mr Lawal) attached to Ikechukwu Ogbonna and request that the phone be handed over to Ikechukwu.”