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Man padlocks four-year-old son’s mouth, burnt him to death with pressing iron for being an ‘Ogbanje’

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A middle-aged man, Elvis Chris, was on Monday arraigned before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja for allegedly killing his four-year-old son with a hot pressing iron.

Chris was arraigned on one count of murder before Justice Hakeem Oshodi by the Lagos State Government.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

It was gathered that sometime in July 2014, Chris, at his Meiran residence in the Ojokoro area of the state, allegedly killed his son by using a hot pressing iron on his body.

According to the prosecutor, M. T. Adewoye, the defendant allegedly dumped the corpse of his son in a plastic drum in a bid to cover up his crime.

The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

However, the counsel representing Chris from the Office of the Public Defender, E. B. Obogwu, prayed the court to withdraw his appearance immediately after the arraignment.

Obogwu noted that the matter involved a minor hence his withdrawal from the case.

Reacting to the request of the counsel, Justice Oshodi noted that the issue of the age of the deceased did not apply in a murder case, adding that the case involved life and therefore, the question of segregation in the murder of a child or minor did not arise.

The judge, thereafter, ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi Prison pending the determination of the case and adjourned till November 13, 2019, for trial.

In a 2014 report on ibtimes.com, the evil father was reportedly arrested for padlocking his young son’s mouth, burning him with a hot iron and beating him to death.

According to IBTimes’ UK edition, 30-year-old Elvis was taken into custody for the death of four-year-old Godrich, whom he believed was an “Ogbanje,” or an “evil child” and caused him ill-fortune.

The report states the incident happened in Lagos, the most populous city in the African country of Nigeria, on Adetola Adelaja Street, Meiran, on Feb. 10. Elvis allegedly beat the child and burned him using a hot iron before locking him inside a plastic barrel.

The paper wrote,

A photo has also been circulating the Internet showing the alleged child with a padlock through his mouth. The report said Elvis locked his son’s lips together to prevent him from screaming as he beat and burned him.

The child’s mother reportedly found her son dead when she arrived home from the market. Police arrested Elvis, who works as a security guard in privately-owned Merchant Navy, following the incident report and are still investigating.

The Punch, which cites itself as “Nigeria’s Most-Widely Read Newspaper,” reported Elvis feigned insanity following his arrest, “acting strangely to convince the police that he was mentally ill.”

The newspaper released details the murder charge from MS S.O Solebo of Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court:

“That you, Chris Elvis, on February 10, 2014, about 5pm at 7, Adetola Adelaja street, Meiran Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did unlawfully kill one Godrich Elvis, aged 4 years by using hot pressing iron to burn him all over his body and putting him inside a plastic drum and locked the drum with padlock and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.”

The Punch also said during his hearing on Feb. 19, Elvis was read his murder change and reacted by putting the charge sheet in his mouth. The magistrate warned him to behave while in court.

His plea was not taken and will resume in court on April 2.

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