A Lagos courtroom on Wednesday turned into a theatre of shock and sorrow as police hauled a 49-year-old man, Adedokun Ademola, before an Ejigbo Magistrates’ Court over alleged threats to life.
Ademola is facing a three-count charge bordering on breach of peace, threat to life, and stealing.
Prosecutors told the court that the defendant allegedly turned a knife against his own mother, Mrs Idowu Adedokun, in a frightening escalation of family tension.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
When proceedings began, the complainant painted a grim picture of what she described as a dramatic fall from grace. According to her, her son, who once lived peacefully under her roof, allegedly became a different person after marriage.
She told the court that he abandoned church activities, slipped into alcohol abuse, and allegedly turned their home and shop into a scene of repeated destruction.
In one disturbing account, she said he returned home intoxicated and insisted on cooking despite all attempts to stop him. The situation, she said, quickly spiralled out of control.
She further alleged that while she checked on him, he suddenly grabbed her from behind by the neck in an attempt to strangle her.
“The intervention of neighbours saved me,” she said
She added that fear had now replaced affection, insisting she could no longer allow him under her roof.
The tension deepened in court as the defendant’s sister, Mrs Eniola Olukosi, corroborated parts of the story, telling the court she had seen him storm their mother’s shop, allegedly causing disturbances and acting violently whenever he was under the influence of alcohol.
In his defence, the defendant admitted that Mrs Adedokun is his biological mother but insisted that parts of her testimony were untrue. He maintained that life’s circumstances had forced him to live with her, describing himself as “a victim of circumstances’ which had made him live with his mother.”
Presiding Magistrate, Ms F.R. Ogunkoyode, sought clarity on whether the defendant had undergone any mental assessment, and he confirmed he was of sound mind. His sister also backed this claim in court.
The magistrate further attempted reconciliation, asking whether the complainant would consider forgiving her son, but she stood her ground, insisting she wanted the court to “teach him a lesson”.
The matter was thereafter adjourned until July 10 for hearing.
According to the charge sheet, prosecutor ASP Simon Njue alleged that the offences occurred in January at Ijegun, Lagos, where the defendant allegedly threatened his mother with a knife and stole goods worth N50,800 from her shop.
The alleged offences violate Sections 56(1), 168(d), and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
