IVD Faces Manslaughter Charge Over His Wife’s Death As Lagos State Government Takes Legal Action

Ikechukwu Ogbonna, widely recognized as IVD, is now facing charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the tragic passing of his wife, Abimbola.

The Lagos State Government has initiated legal proceedings against IVD, a well-known celebrity car dealer, by bringing a manslaughter case through the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) before the High Court of Lagos, Ikeja.

The allegations arise from the unfortunate demise of Abimbola, his wife, who lost her life in a fiery incident that occurred at their residence in Lekki, Lagos State, on October 15, 2022. An additional charge has been appended to the initial accusation, with the DPP charging the auto dealer with involuntary manslaughter, an offense under Section 229 of the Lagos Criminal Law.

IVD has entered a plea of not guilty in response to these charges, and the trial is currently underway, presided over by Justice Modupe Nicole-Clay. Notably, it was the late Abimbola who had filed a complaint against her husband before her tragic passing, as disclosed by DSP Fetuga Olatunji, who provided testimony under the representation of the Lagos State Government.

DSP Olatunji said:

“The AIG gave a directive to effect the arrest of the defendant (Ikechukwu) for attempted murder, threat to life, domestic violence, and conduct likely to cause the breach of peace. When we learnt that the matter was reported at the Ajah Police Station, a signal was sent that both the case file and the suspect be transferred to the zonal headquarters.
“My team obtained a statement from Abimbola’s mother because she (Abimbola) was not in the right state of health. However, two days later, and while waiting for the case file alongside the suspect to be brought to Zone 2, another information came that Abimbola had died.
“At that point, the AIG ordered that the matter should be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, for proper investigation.”
The witness claimed that he and his colleagues were unable to get a report regarding the defendant (Ikechukwu) because he was nowhere to be found and that his phones were switched off during cross-examination by IVD’s attorney, Victor Ogunde (SAN).
“Every concluded investigation must have a police report. The reason we didn’t have a report is because the investigation on the case was not concluded by us,” he said.

Justice Modupe Nicole-Clay accepted several documents as exhibits during the court proceedings, including the case file’s index, entry, minute sheet, the statement provided by the complainant’s witness, a certified true copy (CTC) of the petition, and a copy of the signal sent to the Ajah Police Station.

Subsequently, the presiding judge decided to adjourn the trial to December 13, 2023.