A High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for the brutal murder of a National Youth Service Corps member, Salome Adaidu.
Presiding over the case on Thursday, Justice Simon Aboki found Ajayi guilty of culpable homicide after it was established that he not only murdered the corps member but also dismembered her body.
The defendant was convicted under Section 221 of the Penal Code applicable in Northern Nigeria, which stipulates the death penalty for culpable homicide.
“This court finds the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The evidence presented by the prosecution clearly shows that the defendant committed this heinous crime. He is hereby sentenced to death by hanging,” Justice Aboki declared in his ruling.
The court’s judgment brought a somber closure to a case that had drawn widespread public attention due to the shocking nature of the crime and the victim’s status as a young woman serving her nation under the NYSC scheme.
A court official who preferred not to be named said, “The victim was full of promise and was dedicated to serving her country. What happened to her was horrifying, and today, justice has finally been served.”
The state prosecution described the judgment as “a victory for justice and a warning that such acts of brutality will not go unpunished.”
