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Lukman Olabiyi
A woman, Mrs. Taiwo Idehen, and her three children, have been arraigned before the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere, over an alleged murder of her police husband, Mr. Joseph Idehen, a retired Superintendent of Police.
Taiwo and her three children, Samuel, Michael and Ruth were arraigned before Justice Adedayo Akintoye on charges bordering on conspiracy to murder, murder, stealing, use of false document and forgery by the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (Force CIID), Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos.
The police in the charge, accused all the defendants of committing the offences at the deceased’s residence located at 5, Odetola Street, off Merit Road, Alagbado, Lagos, on July 4, 2016.
Taiwo who was said to have divorced the deceased over 29 years ago and her three children were alleged to have conspired among themselves to murder the retired senior police officer in a suspicious circumstance.
They were also alleged to have forged a death certificate from Otta General Hospital, Ogun State, which was used in convening the deceased’s corpse to Aragba in Delta State.
The police also alleged that the third defendant, Michael, fraudulently withdrew the sum of N286, 000 from the deceased account domiciled in First Bank Plc. While it also accused all the defendants of fraudulently withdrew the sum of N2.1 million from the deceased account domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc.
The offences according to the prosecutor, Morufu Animashaun, the Legal Officer of the General Investigation Department of Force CIID, are contrary to Sections 233, 365 (3)(d), 366 and 287 (5).
Animashaun while arraigning the defendants before the court said their arrest was predicated on a petition dated August 2016, written to the police by the Chambers of Milestone Partners, wherein the role played by each of the defendants leading to the death of the retired police officer was stated.
The prosecutor also told the court that upon receiving the petition, each of the defendants was invited for interrogation and they all wrote confessional statements.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
With the not-guilty plea of the defendants, the prosecutor, Animashaun, urged the court to remand them in prison custody pending the conclusion of the matter.
In urging the court not to grant the prosecutor’s request, their lawyer, Mr. Kennedy Osunwa, told the court that he had filed his clients’ bail applications and same had been served on the prosecutor.
However, the presiding judge, Justice Akintoye, adjourned the matter till January 25, for hearing of their bail application. She also ordered that all the defendants be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing and determination of their bail applications.
