(JUST IN)Hafsoh: Court sentences Islamic cleric to death for ritual killing of college student

In a chilling case that has shocked residents of Ilorin and beyond, the Kwara State High Court on Thursday sentenced an Islamic cleric, Abdulrahman Mohad, also known as Mohammed A. Bello, to death by hanging for the ritual killing of a final-year student, Lawal Hafsoh Yetunde.

Justice Hannah Ajayi, who presided over the case in Ilorin, delivered the judgment after finding the cleric guilty of the murder of the young woman, who was a student at the Kwara State College of Education.

Four other defendants, 41-year-old Islamic scholar Ahmed Abulwasiu from Adualere, Ilorin; 28-year-old Neo Life business operator Sulaiman Muhydeen from Amilegbe, Ilorin; 29-year-old phone repairer Jamiu Uthman from Adualere, Ilorin; and 31-year-old farmer AbdulRahman Jamiu from Elemere, Malete, were discharged and acquitted by the court because of the prosecution’s inability to prove the offence of conspiracy and their direct involvement in the crime.

The gruesome incident occurred on Monday, February 10, 2025, after the student received a phone call while attending a naming ceremony and mysteriously went missing.

Her family and friends launched a frantic search before reporting her disappearance to the police at Oja Oba Station in Ilorin the following day.

Police investigators, using Hafsoh’s phone records, traced her last known call to Abdulrahman Mohad, leading to his arrest.

The suspect, who resides in the Offa Garage area of Ilorin but has family ties in Isalekoto, was subsequently taken into custody along with four others accused of aiding him in committing the heinous crime.

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

However, in a video seen by SaharaReporters, Abdulrahman Mohad attempted to exonerate his co-accused, claiming sole responsibility for the murder.

“I am the only one that killed her. These other people were not there,” he declared.