Electrician, friend in police net for attacking Maersk MD, killing wife

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested two men, Ade Akanbi and Olamide Adegoke for allegedly attacking the Managing Director of Maersk Nigeria, Gildas Tohouo, and stabbing his wife, Bernadett, to death at their residence on No. 1 Luggard Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos State.

According to reports, the suspects also allegedly stabbed Tohouo and forced him to drink a substance suspected to be acid, leading him to be in a critical state in the hospital.

The deceased wife was a Hungarian, while her husband is a Cameroonian.

Reports also have it that one of the suspects, Adegoke, was said to be an electrician working with the estate, where the couple’s apartment is located and that the couple organised a party in their house on Sunday and many invited guests were said to have gathered in the compound to felicitate with them.

Adegoke, who was said to be a familiar face in the estate, was granted access to the party. He also reportedly used his familiarity to smuggle his accomplice, Akanbi, in.

It was gathered that the party ended around 11.30pm and the guests departed for their various homes, but Adegoke and Akanbi were said to have lurked around the couple’s apartment.

Suddenly, there was a power outage in the building and the suspects allegedly offered to assist the couple to restore power. Being a recognized face and that he is an electrician in the estate, they were allowed into the main building to help.

A source, who is conversant with the development, said: “The electrician came with his friend and they were granted access based on the fact that Adegoke was a known face. Immediately the two suspects entered the building, they attacked the couple with knives. They locked the husband and wife in separate rooms and forced the wife to transfer some money to them and also collected her ATM card.

“Afterwards, the suspects stabbed the couple. The husband survived the attack and managed to call his company’s chief security officer, who alerted the police, but his wife was not lucky as she died on the spot after being suffocated with a pillow.”

The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu was said to have led a team of policemen to storm the scene of the crime and arrested the suspects before they could escape.

Read also: Troops rescue 14 women, 17 children from Boko Haram insurgents in Borno

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said the suspects allegedly stabbed the man’s wife and suffocated her, adding that the husband also sustained injuries and had been taken to hospital.

Elkana said: “The man is a Cameroonian and his wife was Hungarian. They hosted a party earlier on Sunday, and when the guests had left, there was a power outage. The electrician, who was also in attendance with an accomplice, was still in the compound during the outage.

“So, they knocked on the door and volunteered to help the couple fix their power problem. When the door was opened, the two suspects, Ade Akanbi and Olamide Adegoke, attacked the couple and stabbed the man and his wife.

“But the man survived, while his wife died due to the injuries she sustained from the attack.

“The suspects wanted to rob the couple and have been arrested. The knives used in perpetrating the crime have also been recovered.

“The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, mobilised personnel to the scene of the crime and arrested the suspects. Homicide detectives from the command have also cordoned off the area. Investigation is ongoing.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now