Douglas Tamunokopo, a married 29-year-old man, is on trial before Justice C.O. Agbaza at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Udo Abigail, for having an abortion without his permission.
According to information obtained by PUNCH Metro, Tamunokopo was the deceased’s love partner at the time of her pregnancy.
Later, Abigail learned that the defendant already had a family in River State, with two children. She reportedly aborted the child after the pregnancy was discovered.
However, the event sparked a contentious dispute that turned into a fight between couples.
After the altercation, the defendant allegedly departed the room for work, leaving Abigail behind.
According to the source, after Abigail failed to emerge from the defendant’s room, neighbours grew concerned. When they eventually made their way inside Tamunokopo’s room, they discovered the deceased seated on a chair with a rope tied around her neck.
Tamunokopo was later detained and accused with killing Abigail in court.
The charge stated, in part, “That you, Douglas Tamunokopo, did cause the murder of your girlfriend, Udo Abigail, by strangling her to death on September 1, 2016, at the Mogadishu Barracks, Abuja, in the Abuja Judicial Division.”
According to Wale Adeagbo, the prosecutor, the crime was penalised by Section 221 of the Penal Code.
The defendant, however, entered a not guilty plea to the
Zephaniah said before the court that on September 1, 2016, while performing his duties, Mogadishu Barracks sent out a distress call informing him that an incident had occurred there.
“The officer in command of the Homicide Section mobilised a team of police officers to the scene where the crime occurred with me as an investigative police officer,” the officer stated.
“There was a scene where a young woman allegedly committed suicide. When the accused’s chamber was unlocked, I observed a young woman sitting on a plastic chair with a rope around her neck and another rope fastened to a five-inch nail on the wall.
“The scene was captured on camera, the fingerprint was removed, and the rope was cut from the victim’s neck,”