By Toheeb Omotayo
In a shocking courtroom revelation, Abdulrahman Bello, the prime suspect in the murder of Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education, has confessed to killing the victim for ritual purposes.
The confession was played in court on Wednesday at the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin, deepening public concern over ritual-related crimes.
Bello, who is standing trial alongside four other suspects, admitted in a video recording presented as evidence that he acted alone in the killing.
In the footage, he stated that he murdered Hafsoh because he could not obtain human body parts by any other means. “I wouldn’t have killed her if I had another way to get the parts,” he said.
The case is being presided over by Justice Hannah Olushola Ajayi. Testimony from Inspector Ayodele Azeez of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) outlined the findings of the police investigation.
According to Azeez, officers recovered several incriminating items from Bello’s residence, including an axe, cutlass, charms, a blood-filled container, and the severed hands of the victim.
The case was initially transferred to the State CID on February 14, 2025, following a report of rape and murder filed at the Oja-Oba Police Division.
Inspector Azeez said Bello was arrested at his residence in Olunlade and voluntarily gave a statement, which was both handwritten and video-recorded in the presence of a police-assigned lawyer, Barrister A.O. Ahmed.
The video confession, later transferred to a compact disc, was admitted as evidence despite objections from Bello’s defense counsel, Barrister Agbede, who argued that the statement was obtained under duress. Justice Ajayi dismissed the objection and ordered the video to be played in court.
Further investigation by the police revealed that Bello had regular contact with his co-defendants in the days leading up to and on the day of the murder. Using his phone records, officers tracked and arrested the remaining suspects.
Inspector Azeez described the network of suspects, identifying the second defendant as Bello’s teacher and the third as the teacher’s student.
The fourth and fifth defendants, he said, were close friends of Bello. “All five suspects are closely linked,” Azeez told the court, suggesting a possible coordinated effort in the crime.
