RENOWNED Lagos pathologist, Professor John Oladapo
Obafunwa, on Monday, while testifying as a prosecution witness in the ongoing
trial of a youth pastor, Akolade Arowolo who was alleged to have murdered his
wife,
former member of staff of Skye
Bank, Titilayo Omozoje, stated that during the autopsy, he discovered that the
late banker had a minimum of 76 stab wounds that were inflicted on her by
someone else.
Professor Obafunwa, who was being
led in evidence by Mrs Olabisi Ogungbesan, the Lagos State Director of Public
Prosecution before Justice Lateefa Okunnu of a Lagos High Court sitting in
Ikeja, testified that there was a concentration of stab wounds from her chest
to her abdomen on the left side.
According to the pathologist, he conducted
both external and internal examinations of the deceased’s body during autopsy,
adding that he noticed multiple stab wounds and some incised wounds involving
her chest, arm and abdomen.
He further revealed that during his
internal examination of the body, he found various wounds consistent with
wounds from sharp weapon with a single edge blade as well as a double edge
blade.
The wounds, he stated, affected the
left eye, right eye, upper chest area, right chest and the collar bone left
armpit also included a 10 x 5cm rectangular area that has multiple individual
injuries on the left side of her chest and breast overlying the heart.
Professor Obafunwa, who supported
his testimony with slides of pictures on a Compact Disc stated that the autopsy
revealed a gaping wound which was revealed as a black hole in the chest region.
According to him, the chest wall
was lost due to multiple stab wounds, there was a damage to the diaphragm, left
side of the liver, breast area and repeated stab wounds to the lungs and
injuries.
The professor revealed further that
his forensic investigations revealed that the injuries could not have been self
inflicted as the penetration was from the chest to the back and there were stab
wounds to the stomach wall.
The final result of the autopsy,
according to him, is that the death was caused by multiple injuries in the
chest and abdomen due to multiple sharp and long force trauma.
He also identified an alleged
weapon which he confirmed was consistent with some of the wounds on the
deceased’s body.
Speaking on his examination of the
deceased’s husband, Professor Obafunwa stated that there were wounds on his
hand and abdomen and he also had a limping gait which he admitted may be
because he jumped to the ground from the fourth floor.
He, however, added that the 12
injuries he examined were not penetrating but superficial and two of them might
fall into the category of defence wounds, though not all the injuries fall into
the time frame the incident was said to have occurred as they might have been
on the body earlier.
In reply to Olanrewaju Ajanaku, the
defence counsel’s allegation that the pathologist was the one that inflicted
the stab wounds on the deceased when the corpse was in his custody, he asked
how he could do that when he was not insane.
The case was adjourned till October
22 for further hearing and the prosecution is expected to take its last
witness.