Banker-wife killer: Arowolo’s 32-month journey to the hangman’s noose [DETAILS]

by ‘Jola Sotubo

arowolo

The entire nation was thrown into shock when the news emerged in 2011 of a man in Lagos who had brutally murdered his banker wife.

Akolade Arowolo stabbed Titilayo, the mother of his then 2-year-old child, 76 times puncturing her vital organs with the knife going straight through her heart.

The 32-year-old self acclaimed pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God was yesterday sentenced to death by Justice Lateefat Okunnu at a Lagos High Court.

The case held the nation riveted especially since Akolade stuck with his tale of how his wife had stabbed herself and caused her own death.

When the judgment was delivered, Akolade is said to have cried out and called upon the spirit of his late wife to come to his aid and prove his innocence.

Justice Okunnu in delivering the judgment criticized the convict’s parents for lying and said that they damaged their son’s case instead of helping it.

Here is a timeline of the case from the day of the murder to the day of sentencing:

24 June 2011 – Titilayo Arowolo is found stabbed to death at the couple’s residence on Number 8, Akinseinde Street, Isolo, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

25 June 2011- Akolade Arowolo is arrested at about 11pm by the police attached to the Aswani Division in Lagos after he returned to his home at the address above.

July 7, 2011: Akolade Arowolo is arraigned before a Yaba Magistrates’ Court for the murder of his wife, Titilayo.

 

December 21, 2011: The case is transferred to the Ikeja High Court and the accused is arraigned before Justice Lateefat Okunnu. He pleads not guilty to the one-count charge of murder preferred against him. The court remands him at Ikoyi Prison, Lagos. The case is adjourned till January 17, 2013 for trial.

February 7, 2012: The father of the deceased and her sister testify that the marriage between Titilayo and Akolade was characterized by violence and abuse.The court adjourns the trial till February 20, 2012.

February 20, 2012: The security guard at the Arowolos’ residence, one Saidu Husseni,  testifies that he saw Akolade washing blood from his hands while ordering him to hurriedly open the gate of the house.

June 27, 2012: The accused, Mr. Arowolo, slumps in the dock during trial. He is revived by prison officials and immediately taken outside the court room to take his drugs.

October 15, 2012: A consultant pathologist, John Obafunwa, tells the court that Titilayo’s body was inflicted with 76 stab wounds. Mr. Obafunwa, the Chief Medical Examiner of Lagos State, says he conducted both external and internal examination of the body of the deceased during the autopsy. According to him, the final result of the autopsy revealed that the death was caused by multiple injuries in the chest and abdomen due to multiple sharp wounds and long force trauma.

November 29, 2012: Akolade’s father,  Mudasiru Arowolo, testifies that his son did not kill Titilayo and that the troubles which plagued the marriage were due to the interference of the family members of the deceased.

 

January 22, 2013: Akolade’s mother also claims that her son couldn’t have killed Titilayo and states that the deceased was rude and troublesome, earning her the nickname, “Margaret Thatcher”.

March 28, 2013: Mr. Arowolo enters the witness box and begins the narration of his own side of the story. He tells the court that he got married to Titilayo on August 8, 2008 and the family was blessed with a baby girl few months after the marriage. According to him, ego and immaturity caused several problems between him and his wife and deprived them of marital bliss. The court adjourns the trial till May 22, 2013.

May 22, 2013: The accused continues his testimony, telling the court that he did not murder Titilayo. Mr. Arowolo says his in-laws were responsible for the trouble in his marriage to their daughter. He claims Titilayo died after accidentally falling on a knife she was using to stab him during a quarrel on the day of the incident which was his birthday.

February 21, 2014: Justice Okunnu finds Akolade Arowolo guilty of murder and sentences him to death.

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