Kwara Court Sentences Man to Death for Killing Facebook Lover in Alleged Ritual Case

A Kwara State High Court in Ilorin has sentenced Abdulrahman Bello to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of 24-year-old Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education.

Justice Hannah Ajayi delivered the ruling on Thursday after a four-month trial, concluding that Bello was solely responsible for the killing of Lawal, who was said to be his lover on Facebook.

The court found that Bello lured Lawal to his residence in the Offa Garage area of Ilorin on February 13, 2025, under the pretense of a visit. She had reportedly been on her way from a friend’s naming ceremony when she received the invitation.

Evidence presented during the trial showed Bello initially confessed to murdering Lawal for ritual purposes, claiming he needed human body parts. He later changed his account multiple times—first alleging he strangled her after sex and dismembered her body, and later claiming she died of an asthma attack and that he dismembered her corpse out of panic.

Despite the inconsistencies, the court held that the weight of the evidence confirmed Bello’s culpability. Four other men—Ahmed Abdulwasiu (41), Suleiman Muyideen (28), Jamiu Uthman (29), and Abdulrahmon Jamiu (31)—who had been arraigned alongside Bello, were discharged and acquitted for lack of evidence linking them to the crime.

The judgment brings closure to a case that stirred public outrage in Kwara State earlier this year and raised fresh concerns about the misuse of social media for criminal intentions.