The Kwara State High Court in Ilorin has sentenced Abdulrahman Bello to death by hanging for the murder of Tetundeh Hafsoh Lawal, a final-year student of the College of Education, Ilorin.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, July 31, 2025, Justice Hannah Ajayi acquitted four other defendants—Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Jamiu Uthman, Suleiman Muyideen, and Abdulrahman Jamiu—of all charges, stating that there was no evidence linking them to the crime.
Bello was found guilty of luring Hafsoh Lawal to his residence on February 10, 2025, under the guise of a romantic relationship, only to kill and dismember her body.
Justice Ajayi described the act as “cruel, wicked, and an extreme display of human wickedness.” She stated that evidence presented during the trial proved that the victim was killed for ritual purposes and the illegal trade of human body parts.
She also dismissed Bello’s claim of love and intention to marry the victim as a calculated ploy to deceive her.
Upon arrest, police found a cutlass believed to have been used in the murder, a bottle containing blood, the victim’s palm, and her personal belongings in Bello’s room. Other decomposed body parts were later recovered at a nearby dumpsite.
Bello was consequently sentenced to death by hanging, while the four others were discharged and acquitted.
Source: Linda Ikeji Blog
