After four months of trial, Justice Hannah Olushola Ajayi of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has sentenced Abdulrahman Bello, the killer of Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, to death by hanging.
Hafsoh Lawal was a 24-year-old final-year student of Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, as at the time he was murdered by Bello on February 10, 2025.
Justice Ajayi, in a judgment in Thursday found Bello guilty of killing Hafsoh, with intent to use her body parts for money rituals.
The judge ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Bello intentionally lured Hafsoh to his home under the guise of a romantic relationship, killed her, and dismembered her body for ritual purposes.
However, four other men who had stood trial alongside Bello were discharged and acquitted by the court.
They are Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muyideen, Jamiu Uthman, and Abdulrahmon Jamiu.
The court ruled that there were no evidences linking them to the crime.
The incident occurred on February 10, after Hafsoh received a call from Bello while attending a naming ceremony.
She was later declared missing by her family.
Her dismembered remains were discovered days later in Bello’s residence, following a police investigation that traced her mobile phone to him.
During the trial, Bello admitted being in a relationship with the victim, whom he met on Facebook, and confessed to killing her for ritual purposes.
He initially claimed she died of an asthma attack after rounds of sex, but later told the court he had choked her and dismembered her body alone.
Hafsoh, the first child of her family, was preparing for graduation before her life was tragically cut short.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
