“RELEASE BODY FOR BURIAL” – FAMILY OF KWARA STUDENT MURDERED BY FACEBOOK LOVER DEMANDS COURT ACTION
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By Oduola F.A.
At the resumed hearing of the ongoing trial over the murder of Hafsoh Lawal by her suspected Facebook lover, AbdulRahman Bello, on Monday, the family of the slain final-year student from Kwara State College of Education asked the state High Court in Ilorin to release the dismembered body of the deceased for burial according to Islamic rites.
It is worth noting that AbdulRahman Bello and four others are standing trial on charges of conspiracy and murder in connection with the death of Hafsoh Lawal.
The request was made by the Kwara state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Senior Ibrahim Sulyman, who is the prosecution team lead in the murder case of Hafsoh Lawal against five suspected persons.
However, the defence counsel, Mr. Chukwudi Maduka, who represents the first defendant, Abdulrahman Bello, did not object to the request, saying that he sympathised with the family despite the ongoing prosecution.
Meanwhile , three more witnesses including two police officers and an anatomic pathologist from University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Olaleke Folaranmi testified before the court at the resumed hearing.
Key police witnesses, including officers from the Police ‘C’ Division, Oja Oba, Ilorin and the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), testified that the prime suspect had orally confessed to the crime.
The officers told the court that the suspect led investigators to his apartment and later to a dumpsite at Olunlade area of the state capital to recover parts of the dismembered body of the deceased.
The police men also said that the investigation led them to the maim dumpsite located near the Okolowo–Eyenkorin expressway, where parts of the body were allegedly recovered.
“Police men were led to the dump site by Abdulrahman Bello to recover the human parts, but were already evacuated by the refuse disposal people to Okolowo-Eyenkorin expressway. The next day, we met with a scavenger who helped the police team recover the parts. Abdulrahman later identified the human parts as those of the deceased”, ASP of the state CID told the court.
The prosecution team also played a video in court showing the discovery of Hafsoh’s dismembered body parts inside the apartment of the prime suspect, Abdulrahman Bello.
The video, along with a certificate of compliance, was later admitted as evidence, despite objections from defence counsel who argued that it did not comply with the state’s criminal justice law.
Another officer, Sergeant Moses, also testified that the victim’s father had reported her missing on February 11, adding that Abdulrahman Bello was arrested after phone records showed that he was the last person who contacted her.
He said that he allegedly confessed and attempted to bribe the police officer to keep quiet while on the way to the police station
A search of his residence reportedly uncovered Hafsoh’s belongings, blood-stained weapons, charms, and buckets containing human body parts soaked in gin.
Also a Pathologist from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Olaleke Folaranmi, confirmed through a postmortem that the remains were human parts. His report was admitted as Exhibit P17.
The presiding judge, Justice Hannah Ajayi, who described the bail application for the suspects as a distraction, promised to give an accelerated hearing to the case and adjourned proceedings until May 21, 2025, for continuation of the hearing.
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