Kwara Court Sentences Man to Death for Ritual Killing of College Student

The Kwara State High Court in Ilorin has sentenced 25-year-old Abdulrahman Bello to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of Hafsoh Lawal, a final-year student of the College of Education, Ilorin.

Delivering the judgment on Thursday, Justice Hannah Ajayi condemned the crime as “cruel and heinous,” describing it as a shocking manifestation of human depravity.

The court found that Bello killed the 24-year-old victim for ritual purposes and to traffic in human parts.

The prosecution presented evidence that Bello lured the victim, murdered her in cold blood, and dismembered her body for a suspected money-making ritual known locally as “oshole/ajoo.”

Bello was convicted of culpable homicide and illegal possession of human parts. However, the court acquitted four others—Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Jamiu Uthman, Suleiman Muyideen, and Abdulrahman Jamiu—of all charges, stating that there was no evidence linking them to the crime.

The horrific incident came to public attention on February 16, 2025, after Afrika Eyes reported the arrest of an Islamic cleric, Mohammed A. Bello, in connection with the murder. Police investigations had earlier revealed that the victim disappeared on February 10, 2025, after attending a naming ceremony near her home. When she failed to return, her parents raised the alarm.

The Kwara State Police Command confirmed that a trace of the victim’s phone led to the arrest of Bello, a resident of the Offa-Garage area in Ilorin. During interrogation, he confessed to killing Lawal and detailed how the crime was committed.

A search of his residence uncovered chilling evidence: two mobile phones belonging to the deceased, her slippers, dismembered hands, a bottle filled with her blood, a cutlass, a knife, an axe, a wooden box of black soap, charms in a sack, and a center table believed to have been used during the act.

In a statement released by police spokesperson SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the suspect admitted to killing the student as part of a ritual aimed at acquiring wealth.

The case was subsequently transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further action.

The police have expressed condolences to the family of the victim, assuring the public that justice has been served in this heartbreaking case.