Abdulrahman Bello, the alleged murderer of Hafsoh Lawal, a final-year student at Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, admitted in court on Wednesday of killing his Facebook lover as part of financial rites.
Bello, who also identifies as an Islamic cleric, reportedly informed the court that he was the only one who carried out the deed. He clarified that he needed human hands for money rituals, which is why he killed Lawal.
He did, however, apologize, saying that he would not have killed her if he had known another way to get the items needed for the ceremony.
Inspector Ayodele Azeez, a police witness affiliated with the state police command’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), also testified in court.
The murder and rape case was moved from the Oja-Oba police division to the state CID on February 14, 2025, according to Inspector Azeez, who recounted the investigation’s specifics.
An axe, cutlass, charms, the victim’s right and left hands, a consultation book, phones, and a blood container were among the items that Azeez described as being in Bello’s possession.
Following the case’s referral to the anti-homicide and anti-robbery divisions, the items were retrieved.
“After the case was accepted at the state CID, it was referred to the anti-homicide and anti-robbery sections,” he said, “the first defendant, Abdulrahman, was found with the following exihibits: one axe, cutlass, table, charms, the victim’s right and left hands, consultation book, Tecno phone, iPhone, iPhone XR, paint rubber, container with blood, and slippers.”
“A group of police officers under the leadership of ASP Dada Segun were given the case, and they gave me instructions to get a statement from the suspect. I then escorted him to a room that was suitable for that purpose.
The police witness claimed, “I asked him which language he preferred to speak and he settled for English. I asked if he had any attorney or relatives around the police command to witness how his statement would be recorded.”
“No!” he exclaimed. He acknowledged that I should get him a lawyer when I inquired whether he needed one, but he added that he lacked the funds to pay for one. I assured him that the money was not a concern.
He wrote his statement in front of lawyer A.O. Ahmed, whom I eventually got him. He recorded everything in his own handwriting, carefully wrote his statement, and signed it.
He acknowledged that there were no issues and signed the statement after I advised him to double-check it in case there was anything missing or needed to be added.
“My team supervisor, ASP Dada Segun, reviewed the statement and asked the lawyer to endorse it. He did so, and I signed my column as an IPO as well. Additionally, ASP Dada Segun asked me to record the suspect signing his statement on video.
“I also recorded using my Android phone, which I then moved to my laptop and, eventually, to a CD with a certificate of compliance.”
The defense’s attorney, Barrister Agbede, challenged to the inclusion of a compact disk that showed the suspect signing his statement on camera during the proceedings.
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Bello was forced to make the confession, according to Agbede. The other defendants’ attorneys, however, made no objections. Justice Hannah Ajayi allowed the disc to be shown in court over the opposition and mandated that it be played.
Inspector Azeez also revealed that Bello’s call log showed that he had continuous communication with the other accused both prior to and on the day of the crime.
These people were located and taken into custody by the police. It was established that the defendants knew Bello when they were brought before him. The second defendant was Bello’s teacher, the third defendant was a pupil of the second defendant, and the third and fifth defendants were personal friends of Bello.
No other damning material was discovered during the police searches of their homes. For more interrogation, the suspects were brought back to the station.
The case was scheduled to reconvene for additional review when the court was in recess at the time this report was filed.
