After a four-month trial, Justice Hannah Olushola Ajayi of the Kwara State High Court today sentenced Abdulrahman Bello to death by hanging for the murder of Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a 24-year-old final-year student at Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted four other suspects: Ahmed Abdulwasiu (41), Suleiman Muyideen (28), Jamiu Uthman (29), and Abdulrahmon Jamiu (31).
During the trial, Bello, who claimed to be an Islamic cleric, confessed to killing Lawal—his Facebook acquaintance—for money rituals.
“I killed her because I needed human hands for money rituals. If only I had known another way to source the needed ingredient, I wouldn’t have killed her,” he told the court.
The gruesome crime occurred on February 13, 2025, after Bello lured Lawal to his residence near Offa Garage in Ilorin under false pretenses. In conflicting testimonies, Bello first claimed he choked Lawal to death after having sex with her, then dismembered her body. Later, he alleged she died from an asthma attack post-intercourse, prompting him to mutilate her remains out of panic.
Lawal had been attending a friend’s naming ceremony before her fatal encounter with Bello.
Details later…
