The Lagos State Government has began the trial of Benjamin Best Nnayereugo, popularly known as “Killaboi,” over the alleged killing of his girlfriend, Augusta Onuwabhagbe.
Nnayereugo was earlier arraigned on November 17, 2025, before the Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere, where he pleaded not guilty to a two-count charge bordering on murder and alleged interference with the corpse of the deceased.
The charges alleged that he stabbed Augusta to death and later mutilated her body by cutting open her stomach and removing some body parts, offences said to be contrary to Sections 165 and 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecution presented its first witness, Reginald Okonye, the deceased’s uncle and Regional Head of Sales for West and Central Africa at Siemens Energy.
While testifying before the court, Okonye narrated how Augusta’s body was discovered in the defendant’s residence located in Oral Estate, Ajah area of Lagos.
He said the search for Augusta began after her mother complained that she had not been able to reach her daughter for about three days. According to him, concerns were also raised by the deceased’s brother.
Okonye told the court that the family later contacted Augusta’s roommate at Lead City University in Ibadan, who suggested they check the residence of the defendant.
He explained that when family members arrived at the estate, they were initially prevented from entering the house but eventually gained access with the assistance of police officers after persistent requests.
According to him, they later climbed through an upstairs window using a ladder, where he found Augusta lying lifeless in a pool of blood inside the apartment.
Okonye said he deliberately avoided raising an alarm immediately to prevent shocking the deceased’s mother, adding that the police later evacuated the body to the morgue around 2 a.m.
He further informed the court that he had come across social media posts allegedly made by the defendant in which he admitted killing Augusta following a disagreement.
During the proceedings, the prosecution sought to tender photographs of the deceased and the Ajah residence as evidence. The presiding judge, Ibironke Harrison, admitted the photographs as exhibits after defence counsel, Marcel Oru, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, reserved his objections.
The court subsequently adjourned the case until March 5 for continuation of the trial, when the deceased’s mother is expected to testify.
Nnayereugo was earlier declared wanted on October 13, 2023, after which an international alert was issued through INTERPOL.
He was first arrested in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on October 20, 2023, while allegedly using a false identity but later escaped during a prison break.
Authorities said he subsequently travelled across countries under forged identities before he was eventually apprehended in Doha, Qatar, in February 2025.
He was later extradited to Nigeria in April 2025 to face trial.
After Wednesday’s proceedings, correctional officers shielded the defendant from journalists’ cameras as he was escorted out of the courtroom.