Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A glum-faced Benjamin Best Nnanyereugo, known to his hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers as Killaboi, sat in the prisoner's dock of the Lagos State High Court at Igbosere on Thursday, May 21, 2026, as the court did what his lawyers had fought to prevent for months: it admitted his written statement and the full video recording of his Qatar arrest into evidence. Justice Ibironke Harrison ruled that the prosecution had laid a proper foundation for the documents, clearing the way for the jury to see the moments when the self-styled influencer was finally caught after eluding law enforcement for nearly two years. While the defendant stared blankly ahead, the court played a video of his interrogation, capturing the moment when the fugitive who had bragged online about living a luxury life on the run was confronted by INTERPOL agents in a Doha apartment.
The prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Adedayo Haroun, called its third key witness – an investigating police officer from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), DSP Oderinde Gafar – to narrate how international cooperation between INTERPOL NCB Abuja and INTERPOL NCB Doha confirmed the defendant's identity using advanced biometric techniques [6†L9-L11]. Gafar told the court that the defendant was arrested in Qatar following coordinated international efforts and subsequently extradited to Nigeria to face prosecution. "The defendant wrote his statement himself during the investigation," the witness said, leading the prosecution to tender the statement, which was admitted without objection [6†L19-L22]. The court then played a video recording of the statement-taking process in open court [6†L23-L24].
Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, Mr Marcel Oru (SAN), the witness was questioned on the circumstances surrounding the making of the statement before he was discharged. The prosecution informed the court that it had concluded the evidence of both the investigating officer and the deceased's mother and that it had one remaining witness to close its case [6†L26-L28]. Justice Harrison thereafter adjourned the matter to June 17 and 18, 2026, for continuation of the trial [6†L29-L30].
The court also heard a harrowing confession from the defendant himself during cross-examination: in a panic after he killed his girlfriend, he fled their Ikota apartment and, on the run, called a neighbour, Mr Yemi, from his hideout in Sierra Leone. Nnanyereugo tearfully told the neighbour that he had just committed a "terrible mistake" and that he was "scared to return to the apartment to face the consequences." The neighbour said the defendant asked him to "check on the apartment, and make sure it was still locked," but did not disclose what was inside. When Mr Yemi eventually visited the residence, he noticed a foul odour coming from the locked room, but the defendant, still on the run, refused to explain what had happened.
The prosecution has alleged that Nnayereugo murdered Augusta Onuwabhagbe, a 21‑year‑old first-class student of Lead City University, Ibadan, at his Ajah residence on July 13, 2023 [3†L6-L8]. The victim's uncle, Mr Reginald Okonye, who was the first prosecution witness, described how he found his niece's body on July 15, 2023. While the defendant's apartment was padlocked from the outside, he and officers gained entry through the balcony using a ladder. Inside, he discovered the victim's body, decomposing, on the bed [11†L18-L30]. The defendant's DNA was later found on her fingers, according to forensic reports. In June 2025, the Lagos State Government filed a two‑count charge against him, including alleged indecent interference with the victim's corpse—cutting open her stomach and removing body parts—and murder [11†L12-L14]. He pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned in November 2025 [2†L15-L16].
The path to the courtroom was itself a trans‑continental manhunt. After committing the crime, Nnayereugo fled Nigeria and later released a misleading online video purporting to confess to the act, a strategy police said was meant to derail investigative efforts [4†L26-L29]. Following his declaration as wanted by the NPF Lagos SCID on October 13, 2023, an INTERPOL Red Notice was issued for his global apprehension [14†L27-L29]. He was initially arrested in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on October 20, 2023, under the false identity "Kanu Princeton Samuel," but escaped custody during a prison break on November 26, 2023 [14†L29-L32]. Further intelligence revealed that he continued to evade law enforcement, traversing multiple regions including West Africa, East Asia and the Middle East under forged identities before eventually relocating to Doha, Qatar, on January 24, 2025 [14†L33-L35].
Operating under the alias "Toure Abdoulaye" with a fraudulent Guinean passport, he secured employment and concealed his identity in Doha, until a meticulous multi‑agency operation led to his capture [14†L35-L36]. Through robust international cooperation and the use of advanced biometrics, INTERPOL NCB Abuja, in collaboration with INTERPOL NCB Doha, confirmed his identity, leading to his arrest by Qatari authorities in February 2025 [14†L37-L40]. An official extradition request, processed via the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, was subsequently approved by the Qatari judicial authorities, resulting in his repatriation to Nigeria in April 2025 [14†L40-L42].
In earlier testimony, the deceased's mother, Mrs Cordelia Onuwabhagbe, told the court that she once regarded the defendant as a member of her family but never knew he was capable of murder. While testifying during cross-examination, she said the defendant frequently visited her home, where he ate, rested, and sometimes slept [6†L34-L38]. She told Justice Ibironke Harrison that the defendant attended her church twice and she thought he was a good person, but it turned out to be a ploy to deceive her [6†L41-L42]. According to her, a trip to Seychelles in 2022 was when the defendant first physically abused the deceased [6†L46-L47]. She said she received a video from the defendant showing a stab wound allegedly inflicted on his hand by the victim, but she knew that the wound actually occurred as a result of him stabbing her repeatedly in the stomach when he killed her [8†L37-L40].
The IGP, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, had commended the diligence of INTERPOL NCB Abuja and extended appreciation to the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Government of Qatar, INTERPOL NCB Doha, and the Nigerian Embassy in Qatar for their collaboration in securing the fugitive's return [12†L32-L35]. The IGP assured the public of the Police’s resolve to pursue justice in the case.
As the trial adjourned until June 17, the public watched closely. The decision on whether the statement and video would be admissible had been fiercely contested. Now, with the green light from Justice Harrison, the prosecution is one step closer to closing its case. For the family of Augusta Onuwabhagbe, the wait for justice is nearly over; for the man who once called himself Killaboi, the cameras in the Doha apartment are about to become the most important footage of his life.
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