The mother of late 21-year-old Augusta Onuwaghagbe who was allegedly m8rdered by her boyfriend, Benjamin Best Nnayelugo AKA Killaboi, has denied claims during cross examination that her daughter was violent and unfaithful during the relationship.
Cordelia Onuwaghagbe is the second witness for the state government prosecuting the m8rder trial, with the suspect as the sole defendant.
At the last court sitting in March, while being led to give her evidence-in-chief by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Babajide Martins, the witness testified about episodes of violence by the defendant on her daughter and that he had already confessed to her that he committed the crime, before absconding.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, the witness was called back up for cross examination.
While being asked by the lead defence counsel, Marcel Oru (SAN), she told Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the JIC Courthouse, Igbosere, that the defendant visited her house regularly while dating her daughter, but that she never knew he was a k!ller.
The deceased’s mother said the pair had first travelled to Mauritius, when they started dating and spent about five days there.
Thereafter, she said they travelled to Seychelles for another vacation and that it was during the nine-day trip that they had a fight.
According to her, Augusta took up some content jobs while on the trip, and her boyfriend helped with taking videos of her.
The witness denied the fight that ensued was because Augusta was recording herself virtually naked, but said she was only dancing and recording herself before the defendant collected her phone angrily and smashed it on the floor.
She also denied her daughter destroyed hotel property during the Seychelles trip, with the defendant paying about four thousand dollars for the damages.
Under further cross examination, the witness denied the deceased was dating one Melvin at the time, or indulging in hookup s3xual relations, which allegedly led to the end of their relationship.
She added that she didn’t raise her daughter that way.
The witness further said that the defendant took the iPhone he bought for the deceased after allegedly k!lling her. she also denied her daughter st@bbed him during a fight, saying the wound on his hand was self inflicted during his attack on the deceased, that led to her death.
When asked whether she knew that the defendant paid the deceased’s school fees twice in 2022 and 2023, totalling more than N1.2m, she said she didn’t know.
Ms. Onuwaghagbe also told the court that the defendant gave her monies totaling N1.175m as gifts at various intervals.
”On December 8, 2021 upon their return form their trip, he gave me N60,000. On July 27, 2022, I posted online that I needed a phone for my ministry, he sent me N100,000, another person sent N100,000 and another sent N20,000. In Jan. 2023, he gave me N15,000 to buy recharge card. Later, he sent one million naira to my account, saying my prayers for him were working and that his business was booming,” she said.
“But, I didn’t spend it and saved it in the cooperative instead. Later in November 2023, someone reached out to tell me he knows where my daughter’s killer is but that I must pay him. So I forwarded the one million naira to the person.”
Hearing continues today, Thursday, April 23. The defendant is charged with two counts of Onuwagjagbe’s murder, which he has pleaded not guilty to.
Augusta, the second child of her single mother was a 400 level student studying Medical Laboratory Sciences at the Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo state and was an online influencer before her d3ath in July 2023.
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