A teenager in Akure has narrated how he, along with an accomplice, conspired to murder one Iyabode Deborah Adene in the Ondo State capital.
The suspect, 17-year-old Phillip Emmanuel, was working as a cook in Adene’s home when the plot to kill her was hatched and executed.
The late Adene was a well-known caterer in Akure, and she was found dead inside her apartment after not being seen for some days.
She had been stabbed several times and brutally killed by her trusted employees.
The suspect, who was paraded at the Ondo Police headquarters on Wednesday, said he had worked with the victim for five months before the incident.
He claimed that it was the accomplice, Precious, employed as a driver for only two weeks, that lured him to commit the fatal crime.
Philip said Precious overheard that N150,000 had been paid into their boss’s account and approached him, suggesting that they should kill her and take the money.
“I am here because I killed my madam last month. I have worked with her for five months. I was her cook. She just employed a driver who had only worked for two weeks,” Phillip narrated.
“One day the driver came to me and said N150,000 just entered Madam’s account. He told me we should kill her and collect the money. I said I had not killed someone before.
“On Saturday, Madam said I should come and help her wash clothes, that she was very tired. The driver came around and Madam was surprised but the driver explained that he wanted to help her.
“That day, the driver brought a drink and gave to me. I drank it. He brought out a cutlass and started threatening me that he would also kill me.
“We went into the house and he pushed me inside. He said I should use a cutlass to hit the woman. I did it. But I started crying.
“After we killed the woman, the driver went to check the account and found only N60,000. He gave me N30,000. I went to Idanre.
“After four days, we heard the woman had died. Police called us to come and explain when we last we saw the woman. I told them and they asked me to go home.
“They called me again and told me I am in communication with the driver. I had to confess.”
Ondo Police Commissioner, Oladipo Abayomi, who described Philip as a trusted employee of the deceased, said, “Avoid openly discussing financial transactions or other personal matters in the presence of staff or others who do not need to be informed.
“In a shocking confession, Philip revealed that he had conspired with Mrs. Deborah’s driver to kill her. The driver, eager to start a “yahoo” business, suggested they steal her ATM card, having overheard that a large sum of money was soon to be deposited into her account.
“On July 25, 2024, Emmanuel and the driver carried out their horrific plan. After lurking around till the unsuspecting woman fell asleep, they brutally attacked her, stole her ATM card, and withdrew a total of Sixty Thousand Naira (₦60,000). The driver remains at large, and efforts to apprehend him are ongoing.”
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