Ex-driver Sentenced to Death for Killing 80-year-old Employer, Wife in Abuja

ByEditor

Jul 2, 2026 #80-year-old employer killed, #Abiodun Ezekiel, #Abuja elderly couple murder, #Abuja murder case, #Adebola Ezekiel, #Apo Legislative Quarters, #death by hanging Nigeria, #elderly couple murder Nigeria, #ex-driver convicted of murder, #FCT murder trial, #Federal High Court Abuja, #former driver sentenced to death, #Jonathan Marcus, #Jonathan Marcus death sentence, #Nigeria crime news

Pat Stevens/

Nearly two years after an elderly Abuja couple were found murdered in their home, a Federal Capital Territory High Court has sentenced their former driver, Jonathan Marcus, to death by hanging.

The victims, 80-year-old Adebola Ezekiel and his wife, Abiodun Ezekiel, were killed on the night of April 1, 2024 at their residence in Zone D of the Apo Legislative Quarters, a quiet neighbourhood where the couple had expected to spend their retirement in peace.

Instead, their deaths sent shockwaves through residents and reignited concerns over violent crimes involving trusted domestic staff.

Delivering judgment, Justice M. S. Idris held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted Marcus of the double murder before sentencing him to death by hanging.

The verdict followed a trial in which prosecutors presented evidence linking the former employee directly to the killings.

According to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, investigators established that Marcus had previously worked as the couple’s driver before his employment was terminated following repeated disagreements with his employers.

Police said he returned to the residence at about 11pm on the night of the attack, where he murdered the couple before fleeing Abuja.

The investigation quickly widened beyond the crime scene after detectives discovered the suspect had escaped to Obajana in Kogi State.

Police tracked him down, arrested him and returned him to Abuja for interrogation.

During questioning, he reportedly confessed to carrying out the killings, a development that strengthened the prosecution’s case during the trial.

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command described the conviction as the culmination of painstaking investigative work that ensured those responsible for the brutal killings were brought before the courts.

Police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said the judgment demonstrated the commitment of law enforcement agencies to pursuing justice for victims of violent crime and reassured residents that the command would continue to protect lives and property across the territory.

The case drew widespread public attention when Marcus was arrested shortly after the murders.

At the time, he claimed to have worked for the elderly couple for about a decade and alleged that he had been poorly treated and inadequately paid.

Click on link to join our WhatsApp channel:

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaH43zJGJP88wNggvZ16