‘Woman dubbed kidnapper and lynched in Ilorin was an orphan battling depression’- Resident

Some Ilorin residents have vowed that the alleged kidnapper, Adijah, beaten to death at Ipata Market in Ilorin on Thursday, August 21, 2025, was an orphan battling depression and mental illness.

Adijah was accosted by someone inside the market and accused of trying to abduct a child.

A mob quickly gathered and aggressively interrogated her about her mission in the market. When they thought she was being evasive and incoherent, they seized her bag to check its contents.

The mob allegedly found four ATM cards and a 2018 University of Ilorin application form in her bag.

They concluded she was a kidnapper and proceeded to strip and beat her to a stupor before the police arrived.

Residents speak on Aunty Adijah or Khadijah

Information now emerging indicates that the woman was well known in some parts of Ilorin as Aunty Khadijah or Adijah, a mentally-challenged person.

The old Unilorin form found in her bag was speculated to be her attempt at self-redemption during a brief spell of sanity before lapsing into insanity again.

An Ilorin resident, Abdulrahman Adebayo Abdulraheem, commenting on a Facebook post, declared that the mob made a wrong call in Adijah’s case.

Abdulraheem, who is an Education Officer at Kwara State Teaching Service Commission, Ilorin, wrote: “I have known her for the past 10 years with mental problems, as I live in the same neighbourhood with her…You have wronged this woman wallohi 😭😭😭😭”

Another resident, Woli Abdullahi, corroborated the information. He also asserted that the victim was not a kidnapper, but a mentally unstable person.

Issa Babatunde wrote his opinion in Yoruba, stating that the lady was only suffering from poor mental health and was not a kidnapper.

Depression and mental health

Sidikat Olaoti-Laaro, who claimed to know the woman personally, shed more light.

According to Olaoti-Laaro, Aunty Adijah’s case was particularly pathetic because her father and mother were late.

She hinted that her depression progressed rapidly, and there was no one to assist her in seeking medical assistance.

Olaoti-Laaro also disclosed that she was once married, but she could not sustain the marriage because of her mental illness.

She opined that the late woman might have gone to Ipata Market to get something to eat before she was falsely accused.

“May Allah have mercy on Anti Adijah, as we normally call her. I met her with the sickness when I married at Oke Apomu more than 20 years ago”.

Police react

Kwara State Police Command Spokesperson, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, confirmed that the woman was a destitute and not a kidnapper.

Ejire-Adeyemi blamed misinformed members of the public for raising a false alarm about the deceased.

She said the police rushed to the scene to save Adijah and rushed her to the General Hospital, Ilorin, for urgent medical attention.

The PPRO said the doctor who attended to her confirmed that she had succumbed to her injuries.

She further disclosed that the body had been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary, as more investigations were being carried out on the case. ‎

The police officer called on members of the public to shun jungle justice, which she said poses grave danger to innocent lives.