Court sentences man to death for murder of Final-Year Kwara College student

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.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Hannah Ajayi found Bello guilty of luring Hafsoh to his residence on February 10, 2025, under false pretences, where he had sex with her before killing and dismembering her body for alleged money rituals and trafficking in human body parts.

The judge described the act as “cruel, wicked, and an extreme display of human wickedness,” rejecting Bello’s claims that he loved the victim and intended to marry her.

She labelled his defence as a web of lies meant to lure and trap the young woman.

While Bello was convicted and sentenced to death, the court discharged and acquitted four other defendants, Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Jamiu Uthman, Suleiman Muyideen, and Abdulrahman Jamiu, citing lack of evidence linking them to the crime. Justice Ajayi ordered their immediate release.