Kwara Court Sentences Islamic Cleric to Death for Ritual Killing of Final-Year Student

An Islamic cleric, Abdulrahman Mohad, also known as Mohammed A. Bello, has been sentenced to death by hanging by the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin for the ritual murder of Lawal Hafsoh Yetunde, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education.

The ruling was delivered on Thursday by Justice Hannah Ajayi, who found Mohad guilty of murdering the young student for ritual purposes.

Hafsoh was reported missing on February 10, 2025, after receiving a phone call while attending a naming ceremony. Her disappearance triggered a frantic search before her family reported the incident to the police at Oja Oba Station in Ilorin.

Police investigators traced her last known call to Mohad, leading to his arrest. He was taken into custody along with four others initially suspected of aiding him in the crime.

The court, however, discharged and acquitted the four co-defendants due to a lack of sufficient evidence linking them directly to the murder.

They include Ahmed Abulwasiu, a 41-year-old Islamic scholar from Adualere; Sulaiman Muhydeen, a 28-year-old businessman from Amilegbe; Jamiu Uthman, a 29-year-old phone repairer from Adualere; and AbdulRahman Jamiu, a 31-year-old farmer from Elemere, Malete.

According to the police First Information Report (FIR), all suspects had initially confessed to belonging to an occult group and admitted to killing Hafsoh for ritual purposes.

Justice Ajayi ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the involvement of the other defendants beyond a reasonable doubt, but the evidence against Mohad was overwhelming, warranting the death sentence.