How 89-year-old woman died from shock after houseboy killed her daughter

When Oreoluwa John, a resident of 4 Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos, hired Ben Ogbu to assist with house chores, on Wednesday, the last thing on her mind was that she and her mother would be dead less than 24 hours later.

Ogbu, who hailes from Oju local government area of Benue state, was said to have stabbed his employer to death after an argument on his first day at work. Realising what happened to her daughter, Adejoke, the 89-year-old mother of Oreoluwa, went into shock and she never recovered.

After their death, the suspect was said not to have shown remorse, looting some of the valuables in the house.

He reportedly moved electronics, handsets and household items into his employer’s car and attempted to escape before he was apprehended by policemen.

Bala Elkana, spokesman of the Lagos police command, said Ogbu confessed to the crime during interrogation.

“The suspect confessed to the crime. In his statement, he averred that, his employer asked him to clean the house at about 9pm of 19th June, 2019 but an argument ensued between them, which prompted him to stab her with a knife,” Elkana said in a statement.

“That the shock of her dead made her aged mother to slum and die. Considering the fact that they are dead, he moved some valuable properties into his employer’s Toyota Camry Salon Car and attempted to escape to where he cannot be found, before he was apprehended by Policemen on patrol at Ogunlana pindown point.”

Elkana said the vehicle and items which Ogbu stole were recovered, while the body of the two victims had been taken to the hospital for autopsy.

He said Zubairu Muazu, commissioner of police in the state, had ordered an investigation into the incident and that the suspect will soon be charged to court.

The tragic incident happened seven months after Sunday Anani, a cook, allegedly hacked Ope Bademosi, chairman of Credit Switch Technology, to death at his residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.