The 25-year-old housemaid, Dominion Okoro, who allegedly murdered in cold blood the mother of former Edo State governor, Madam Maria Oredola Igbinedion, today, Tuesday December 21, 2021 told the police at the Edo state police command that she used a stool to hit the head of the 85-year old woman while trying to steal from her wardrobe.
According to the maid, she (Okoro) killed her and made away with her N100,000, wristwatch, and jewelries after which she escaped to Cross River State, her home town.
The murder suspect made this confession while being paraded at Edo police headquarters in Benin, adding that She committed the act at the palatial residence of the Igbinedions at the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Benin.
Her word: “I killed Mama (Madam Maria Igbinedion) to carry her money. She did not offend me. While she was sleeping on her bed, around 12:01 a.m. on December 2, 2021, I used a stool to hit her on the head and she was shouting for help, but only the gate man was around and he did not hear the shout. Mama later died.
“I waited till 4 a.m. on December 2, 2021, before leaving the house with Mama’s N100,000, wristwatch, and jewellery. I escaped to Cross River State, but I was later arrested by the police.”
Informed sources said Dominion served the family for a year and three months before greed pushed her to commit the crime. It will be recalled that Mama Igbinedion was buried in Benin on December 10, after a funeral service at St. Augustine Catholic Church in the Edo state capital.
The prime suspect’s elder sister, Patience, was first arrested by the police, before Dominion was later nabbed and moved to Benin for thorough investigation.
On interrogation, Patience Okoro maintained that neither she nor their parents in Cross River State knew anything about the crime committed by Dominion.
Edo Commissioner of Police, Phillip Ogbaudu while parading the suspect revealed that it took time, efforts and money to arrest Dominion, with no fewer than twenty persons first nabbed, before the prime suspect (Dominion) was arrested, adding that she has confessed to committing the crime.
Ogbaudu noted that being a state crime, the suspects in the murder of Madam Igbinedion would soon be charged to court, after thorough investigation. Dominion, he explained had earlier being interrogated by him more than three times, stressing that to every crime, there would be parties.
On police war against crimes and criminalities in the state, Ogbadu pointed out that in the fourth quarter of this year, 427 suspected criminals were arrested for their involvement in kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, burglary and other crimes, with large cache of arms, ammunition and money also recovered from them, while declaring Edo as a no-go state for criminals, who were asked to steer clear.
He admonished residents of Edo state to be security conscious during this festive period and never to display expensive items in their vehicles, in order not to attract armed robbers and to ensure that their vehicles were tracked, so as to recover them faster, in case of losing them to criminals.
Edo police commissioner also urged residents of the Southsouth state to always provide the command with timely and useful information about criminals in their midst, while assuring that their identities would be adequately protected.
Uche Nwosu is a two time Shell Petroleum PLC award winner in the year 2000;
He won the Shell Award on Investigative Journalism and Environmental Cleanliness.
