A 25-year-old female housemaid, Dominion Okoro, yesterday confessed to the brutal December 2, 2021 killing of 85-year-old mother of former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion, Maria Oredola Igbinedion.
Dominion, who hails from Calabar, Cross River State, yesterday revealed how she used a stool in the early hours of the incident day to hit the head of the deceased, killing her in the process.
The house-help, who was employed a year and three months before she allegedly committed the crime, made the confession while being paraded at the Edo State Police Headquarters in Benin City.
She also disclosed that she made away with N100,000, a wristwatch, and jewellery from the palatial residence of the Igbinedions at the Government Reservation Area (GRA), the Edo State capital.
“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,” she said.
The suspect added, “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.”
Mama Igbinedion was buried in Benin City on December 10, after a funeral service at St. Augustine Catholic Church, in the Edo state capital.
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Dominion’s elder sister, Patience, was the first suspect arrested by the police before Dominion was later nabbed and moved to Benin for thorough investigation.
Patience Okoro said neither she nor their parents in Cross River State knew anything about the crime committed by Dominion.
Edo State Commissioner of Police, Phillip Ogbadu, revealed that it took time, efforts and money, to arrest Dominion, with no fewer than 20 persons first nabbed, before the prime suspect (Dominion) was arrested and she confessed to committing the crime.
He noted that being a state crime, the suspects in the murder of Madam Igbinedion would soon be charged to court after thorough investigation,
with Dominion being ‘specially worked on’
The CP said he had earlier interrogated her more than three times, stressing that to every crime, there would be parties.
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 called on residents of Edo State to be security conscious during this festive period and never to display expensive items in their vehicles, to avoid attracting armed robbers and to ensure that their vehicles were tracked, so as to recover them faster, in case of losing them to criminals.
