A 26-year-old man, Patrick Nwachukwu, on Wednesday denied strangling his neighbour’s seven-year-old boy to death. Nwachukwu, a footballer, made the denial at an Ikeja High Court, while being cross-examined by Mr Akin George, the Chief State Prosecutor.

“I was carrying the boy on my shoulder and walking towards the door and the floor was slippery as a result we fell down. The child became unconscious and I poured water on him trying to revive him but he did not wake up “I shook him several times, tapped him but he was dead. At that point, I don’t know what to do again.

“I was scared of what would be done to me if people in the neighborhood found out what happened to Ayuba,’’ ,’’ Nwachukwu testified. He, however, admitted that he disposed Ayuba’s corpse with a rope in an underground septic tank also known as ‘soak-away’. He said, “I did the only thing that came to my mind by disposing the corpse in a soak-away located on the street.’’

The defendant said he would not be comfortable facing Ayuba’s family and the whole neighbourhood searching for him. Nwachukwu denied writing a five million naira ransom note to the family of the deceased, adding that “I am not aware of the contents of the letter presented by my uncle’’.

Nwachukwu had on Jan. 12, 2013 allegedly strangled Ayuba, the child of his neighbour. He allegedly demanded a ransom of five million naira from Ayuba’s parents but was caught a week after the child’s disappearance. He was caught following the recognition of his handwriting on the ransom note by his uncle. Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, however, adjourned the case till April 18 for continuation of trial.