IVD: Lagos orders coroner inquest into auto dealer wife’s death

The Lagos State Government has ordered a coroner’s inquest to determine the cause of death of Bimbo Ogbonna, wife of celebrity auto dealer Ikechukwu Ogbonna aka IVD.

In a statement on Tuesday, Moyosore Onigbanjo, the state’s attorney general and commissioner for justice, issued the instruction.

Onigbanjo promised a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding Bimbo’s passing.

Bimbo passed away on October 12 from burns sustained during a fire at their home in the Lekki neighborhood of Lagos. Her family claims that IVD killed her and killed her by subjecting her to years of domestic abuse.

Onigbanjo added that findings of the investigation would be made public in due course and appropriate sanctions meted out to anyone found culpable.

“A coroner’s inquest has immediately been requested, in line with section 14 and 15 of the Coroners’ Systems Law, Laws of Lagos State 2015, to determine the cause and circumstances of death.

“By Section 14(1)(d) of the Coroners’ System Law of the State: “A report of death shall be made to any of the agencies for the report of death or the office of the Coroner and be subject to post-mortem examination where there is reasonable cause to believe that the cause of death was: violent, unnatural or suspicious.

“Section 15(1) and (9) further enjoins the Coroner to hold an inquest whenever he or she is informed that the death of the deceased person was in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation or believes an inquest is desirable following the report of a reportable death,” he said.

The attorney-general also charged the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) to assist the police and other law enforcement agencies in investigating the case and ascertaining the cause of death of the late Bimbo which had attracted wide media attention.