Benjamin Nnayerugo, popularly known as Killaboi, has told a Lagos State High Court that he discovered Instagram and WhatsApp conversations which he claimed suggested that his late girlfriend, Augusta Onuwaghagbe, was arranging a sexual encounter with another man for ₦1.5 million.
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Nnayerugo, who is standing trial over the alleged murder of Augusta, gave the account while testifying in his defence before Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the TBS Annex, Igbosere.
The defendant told the court that the discovery left him emotionally distressed and eventually prompted him to confront Augusta during a video call.
According to him, events leading to the confrontation began in late June 2023 after he lost money on a sports bet and was in a bad mood.
He said Augusta attempted to console him by reminding him of previous betting wins and encouraging him, but her efforts did not improve his mood.
Nnayerugo told the court that Augusta subsequently returned to school and that he had access to her Instagram account, which he began monitoring after she left.
He alleged that he noticed she frequently exchanged messages with accounts belonging to people who were not her friends on the platform and later deleted some of the conversations.
According to him, he monitored the account for about a week and saw messages involving invitations to clubs and enquiries about her well-being.
He said he later agreed with Augusta that she could visit Lagos for the weekend and planned to log out of her account before her arrival so she would not discover that he had been monitoring the conversations.
Nnayerugo testified that a day before the proposed visit, he saw a message from an account identified as “Yako”.
He claimed the sender referred to Augusta as “sweetheart”, explained that he had deactivated his Snapchat account and suggested that they continue their conversation on Instagram.
According to the defendant, the sender asked when Augusta would come to Lagos, and she allegedly replied that she could come whenever he wanted.
Nnayerugo claimed the conversation later turned to payment, with Augusta allegedly insisting that she would not reduce her price.
He said the sender subsequently requested her WhatsApp number so they could continue the discussion on the messaging platform.
The defendant told the court that he became suspicious and decided to investigate further using the telephone number contained in the conversation.
According to him, he obtained a virtual SIM card and created a WhatsApp account using the name and profile photograph associated with “Yako”, after which he continued communicating with Augusta while pretending to be the sender.
He said he asked her to remind him of the amount she wanted and claimed she quoted ₦1.5 million.
Nnayerugo testified that he offered ₦800,000, which she allegedly rejected, saying she was taking a substantial risk.
He further claimed that he asked whether their proposed meeting would take place in a hotel or an apartment and that she allegedly indicated that either would be acceptable once the location was sent.
The defendant said he subsequently increased the offer to ₦1 million, but she allegedly rejected it before he eventually agreed to the ₦1.5 million amount.
Nnayerugo also claimed that he proposed having sex without a condom after undergoing medical tests and that Augusta allegedly agreed.
He told the court that the exchanges convinced him that the proposed meeting was for a sexual encounter in exchange for payment, although he said he had initially been uncertain about what the money was meant for.
The defendant said he was shaking and experiencing what he described as an emotional breakdown as the conversation unfolded.
According to him, he initially considered sending the money through a friend and arranging a hotel meeting where he could confront Augusta but later abandoned the plan.
He said he concluded that he did not need to spend such an amount merely to establish that his girlfriend was allegedly cheating on him.
Nnayerugo told the court that he subsequently decided to end the relationship and confront Augusta with the messages.
He said he initiated a video call which Augusta accepted but claimed she screamed and ended the call when she saw him.
According to him, he confronted her over the alleged arrangement, told her that he knew what she had been doing and informed her that their relationship was over.
The defendant also told the court that he threatened to inform Augusta’s mother about the discovery.
He said he had maintained a close relationship with her mother, who had supported their relationship, prayed for him regularly and attended a church he sometimes visited.
Nnayerugo testified that he was initially unable to reach Augusta’s mother for about 20 minutes but eventually spoke with her, explained the messages he claimed to have discovered and informed her that he had ended the relationship.
He said Augusta’s mother questioned his decision to access her daughter’s account and told him that doing so was wrong and amounted to a criminal offence.
According to him, he became upset by her response because he had called to inform her about the breakup rather than discuss how he accessed Augusta’s account.
He said Augusta’s mother indicated that she would speak with her daughter, but he reiterated that this was not the reason for his call before ending the conversation.
During the proceedings, defence counsel Marcel Oru also raised concerns over a proposed video recording which the defence intended to play before the court.
Oru asked the court to allow Augusta’s mother and brother to leave the courtroom while the recording was being played in order to avoid causing them further emotional distress.
Prosecution counsel Adebayo Araba did not oppose the request.
The defence counsel, however, clarified that the recording had not yet been tendered in evidence and that his request was intended solely to prevent further emotional pain to members of the deceased’s family.
Justice Harrison subsequently adjourned the matter to Thursday, October 22, for continuation.
Nnayerugo remains on trial over Augusta’s death. His allegations concerning the deceased’s private communications formed part of his defence testimony and have not, by themselves, been established as facts by the court.
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