Appeal Court Confirms D3ath Penalty for Cleric in Kwara Student's M8rder Case

The Court of Appeal in Ilorin has affirmed the d3ath penalty previously handed down to Abdulrahman Bello, an Islamic cleric, following his conviction for the m8rder of Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a student at the Kwara State College of Education. The appellate court rejected Bello's appeal, thereby upholding the initial verdict of the lower court.

A three-member panel, presided over by Justice Gabriel Omoniyi Kolawole, delivered the judgment, concluding that the prosecution successfully established beyond reasonable doubt that Bello was responsible for the m8rder and was also found guilty of illegally possessing human body parts. The court determined that the trial court's assessment of the evidence presented was accurate, leading to a sound conclusion. Consequently, the appellate court found no reason to overturn either the conviction or the sentence.

Stating that "The appeal lacks merit," the court confirmed Bello's conviction and the d3ath sentence by hanging imposed by the trial court. Bello had been found guilty of the brutal k!lling of Lawal, who was reportedly his girlfriend in 2025. Prosecutors had accused him of m8rdering the student, dismembering her remains, and retaining portions of her body, allegedly for ritual purposes linked to money.

The prosecution team was spearheaded by Ibrahim Sulyman, the Attorney General of Kwara State, supported by Chief State Counsel Issa Zakari and Assistant Chief State Counsel B.L. Abdulsalam, all from the Kwara State Ministry of Justice.

Bello's arrest was triggered by suspicions that he had k!lled the student for ritualistic reasons. Investigations revealed that the suspect had reportedly lured Lawal after making contact with her on Facebook and obtaining her phone number. It was gathered that on Monday, February 10, 2025, Hafsoh was attending a naming ceremony when she received a phone call from a friend. She then left her food to answer the call and subsequently vanished.

Her family and friends conducted an extensive but fruitless search before reporting her disappearance to the police at the Oja Oba Station in Ilorin the following day. Police investigators utilized her phone records to trace her last communication, which led them directly to Bello, residing in the Offa Garage area of Ilorin. Despite Bello's initial denial of any involvement in her disappearance, a subsequent search of his residence uncovered the horrifying sight of Hafsoh’s dismembered body inside a bowl, alongside various tools believed to have been used in the gruesome act.

Bello had claimed that Hafsoh succumbed to an asthma attack after visiting his home. However, the discovery of a table specifically set up with dismemberment tools at the crime scene suggested that this might not have been his first such offense.