A 30-year-old private school teacher, Nathaniel Baiyegun, has been arrested over the alleged abduction and killing of a 16-year-old WASSCE candidate, Florence, with claims that part of the ransom obtained from her family was later spent on online sports betting.
The suspect, a former teacher of the victim, was said to have lured her to an academic coaching session before allegedly abducting her and demanding money from her family for her release.
Police sources in Ogun State said the teenager was kept inside an uncompleted building, where she was allegedly given multiple doses of D5 sleeping tablets, which were said to have contributed to her death.
Investigators further alleged that after noticing she was in distress, the suspect dumped her body in a river around the Ogijo axis of the state.
In a confessional statement attributed to him, Baiyegun denied any romantic involvement with the victim and insisted the incident was not intentional.
He claimed they had reconnected in April after she informed him of her plan to resit her WASSCE examinations following poor performance in Mathematics and English.
He also admitted introducing her to a man identified as Sola, who allegedly showed romantic interest in her.
According to him, what followed was a plan that went wrong, “I took her to an uncompleted building at the back of our school and used her phone to negotiate a ransom of N3m from her father,” he reportedly stated.
He further said the victim later became distressed after taking sleeping tablets, “When I returned, I discovered that she was gasping for breath,” he said, adding that he later transported and dumped her body in a river while pretending she was sick.
Baiyegun also confessed that after the victim’s father paid part of the ransom, he diverted the money.
“I lied to him that his daughter would be released as soon as the ransom was paid. I spent almost all the money on online sports betting, and I regret it now,” he added.
Police authorities said preliminary investigations also linked him to suspected internet fraud activities, while noting that he had allegedly requested nude photographs from the deceased before her death.
The spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Oluseyi Babaseyi, commended the Anti-Kidnapping Unit for the arrest and assured that efforts were ongoing to dismantle criminal networks operating in the state.
