A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has fixed July 31, for judgment in the trial of Islamic cleric Abdulrahman Bello and four others accused of murdering Yetunde Lawal, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education.
The defendants, Bello, Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhyideen, Jamiu Uthman and Abdulrahman Jamiu, are standing trial on charges of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, unlawful possession of human parts, armed robbery and dealing in human parts.
At the court sitting on Wednesday, the prosecution and defence adopted their final written addresses, after which the presiding judge, Justice Halimat Ajayi, fixed the date for judgment.
Addressing reporters after the proceedings, counsel to the complainants, Ahmed Folorunsho, said, “This is the fastest criminal trial I have ever witnessed in my career for the past over 20 years. The judge has now fixed July 31 for judgment.”
The case gained national attention in 2024 when Bello confessed to the killing before a magistrate court. The cleric told the court that Yetunde died in his apartment after they ate together and in panic, he dismembered her body and disposed of the remains in a dustbin.
He pleaded with the court to release the four others, claiming they had no involvement in the act, which he said was spiritually influenced and done alone.
Following public outrage, the Kwara State Government took over the case and transferred it to the high court. The Emir of Ilorin, religious leaders, and students of the institution where the victim schooled all called for justice.
The suspects are currently being held at the Oke-Kura Correctional Centre in Ilorin.
The court’s decision on July 31 is expected to bring finality to a case that has stirred outrage across Kwara and beyond.
