Justice Halimat Ajayi of the Kwara State High Court will on Thursday, deliver judgement in the murder trial of Abdulrahman Bello, an Islamic cleric accused of killing and dismembering his lover, Hafsoh Lawal, also known as Yetunde, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin.
The trial, which has drawn widespread attention and public outrage since 2024, is nearing its conclusion after months of hearings that exposed disturbing details surrounding the crime.
Bello is standing trial alongside four others, Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhyideen, Jamiu Uthman and Abdulrahman Jamiu, on charges including criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, unlawful possession of human parts, armed robbery and dealing in human parts.
Hafsoh was reportedly invited by Bello to his residence in the Olunlade area of Ilorin, where he allegedly raped and killed her before cutting her body into pieces.
During a police search of his residence, investigators recovered shocking evidence, including human palms, a container filled with blood, phones, waist beads, a cutlass, a knife, black soap and other items.
The defendant initially confessed to the killing before a magistrate court, saying Hafsoh died in his apartment after they ate together.
He claimed he panicked and dismembered her body before disposing of the parts in a dustbin.
However, during the high court trial, Bello changed his narrative, alleging that the confession was made under torture.
While opening his defence in court on June 12, Bello told Justice Ajayi he acted alone and absolved his co-defendants.
He claimed that Hafsoh died during sexual intercourse after suffering an asthma attack.
“She started gasping for breath during sex. I rushed out to get her inhaler, but when I returned, she was already dead. I left again to drink alcohol. When I returned, I cut her body into parts,” he told the court.
Bello admitted to using a knife and a cutlass recovered from his apartment to mutilate her corpse.
But he denied any involvement in money rituals, despite findings by the police that Hafsoh’s body parts and blood were drained and preserved in alcohol for five days.
Under cross-examination, the defendant admitted he did not call for help, take her to the hospital, or inform the police. “I was afraid of her father,” he said.
He also told the court he loved the victim and credited her for encouraging him to pursue further education.
“She was the one who told me to write the 2024 NABTEB exam and take the JAMB form,” he said.
Reacting to the confessional video presented by the prosecution, Bello alleged it was obtained under duress.
“They beat me and forced me to say that I poisoned her food and strangled her to death,” he claimed.
The four other defendants, who testified in their own defence, denied involvement in the crime.
Following public pressure and calls for justice from the Emir of Ilorin, religious leaders and student groups, the Kwara State Government took over the prosecution and elevated the case to the high court.
Speaking after the final addresses were adopted earlier this month, the complainants’ lawyer, Ahmed Folorunsho, described the process as one of the swiftest he had seen in over 20 years of legal practice.
He praised Justice Ajayi’s handling of the matter, which he said had moved quickly despite its complexity.
The defendants remain in custody at the Oke-Kura Correctional Centre in Ilorin.
Thursday’s judgement is expected to bring long-awaited closure to Hafsoh’s family and the broader public, who continue to demand accountability in what has become one of Kwara’s most shocking criminal cases in recent history.
