The Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has sentenced Abdulrahman Bello to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of Hafsoh Lawal, a final-year student of the College of Education, Ilorin.
In her ruling on Thursday, Justice Hannah Ajayi described the crime as inhumane, premeditated, and a disturbing display of cruelty. She emphasized that overwhelming evidence proved Hafsoh’s murder was carried out for ritual purposes, including the trafficking of human body parts.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted four other defendants—Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Jamiu Uthman, Suleiman Muyideen, and Abdulrahman Jamiu—who were initially charged alongside Bello. Justice Ajayi stated there was no substantial link connecting them to the heinous crime.
Bello had lured Hafsoh, whom he claimed to be in a relationship with, to his residence at Olunlade area of Ilorin on February 10, 2025, under the guise of love. After engaging in sexual relations with her, he brutally murdered and dismembered her body.
Upon his arrest, investigators discovered damning evidence in Bello’s room, including a cutlass, a blood-filled bottle, the deceased’s palm, and personal items belonging to Hafsoh. Other decomposed body parts were later recovered at a dumpsite nearby.
Justice Ajayi dismissed Bello’s claim of affection and intentions to marry Hafsoh as a calculated lie to execute his ritualistic intentions. Concluding the judgment, she sentenced Bello to death by hanging, delivering justice for Hafsoh and her grieving family.
