An Islamic cleric in Ilorin, Abdulrahman Mohad Ballo, has been held by the police for allegedly k!lling a final-year student of Kwara State College of Education, Lawal Hafsoh Yetunde, for ritual purposes.
The suspect is believed to have lured Yetunde after connecting with her on Facebook and obtaining her phone number.
Ballo allegedly k!lled Yetunde and dismembered her body for alleged ritual purposes.
The Kwara State Police Command confirmed that suspect stated that the suspect had been arrested.
The victim, a final-year student of Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, was last seen on Monday, February 10, 2025, while attending a naming ceremony.
Those who were at the ceremony said she received a call from a friend at a point and she stepped aside to answer the call. She left the gathering after dropping the call.
“Since then, we’ve been searching for her everywhere, but no one knew her whereabouts,” a source said.
When efforts to track her failed, her family reported her missing at the Oja-Oba Police Station, Ilorin.
The police commenced an investigation and were able to trace her phone number to know who she called last, which led them to the suspect who lived in the Offa Garage district area of Ilorin.
The suspect was tracked down and arrested but he initially denied knowing her whereabouts.
The police went to his home to conduct a search at which point he then confessed that she had visited him and allegedly d!ed of an asthma attack.
During the search conducted on the apartment, the police discovered Yetunde’s dismembered body, hidden in a bowl, along with equipment used for the act.
Police sources alleged that they found suspicious tools in the suspect’s room which suggested that he might be into ritual killings.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, confirmed the incident, stating: “The Kwara State Police Command is aware of the gruesome killing of one Miss Yetunde H. Lawal. On February 11, 2025, at about 1800 hours, a case of a missing person was reported at C Division Oja-Oba by her father, Mr. Ibrahim A. Lawal.
Nigerians have now besieged the Facebook account of the suspect to insult him. His page has lots of religious messages that belie the act he is alleged to have committed.
