Kwara murder: Court grants family request to bury dismembered body

The family of Hafsoh Lawal, the murdered final-year female student of the Kwara State College of Education, has requested the State High Court sitting in Ilorin to release her dismembered body for proper burial according to Islamic rites.

The request was made by the Kwara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Senior Ibrahim Sulyman, who is the lead prosecutor in the murder case against five suspects, during the continuation of the hearing on Monday.

The defence counsel, Mr. Chukwudi Maduka, representing the first defendant, Abdulrahman Bello, raised no objections to the request, expressing sympathy with the family despite the ongoing prosecution.

Abdulrahman Bello and four others are standing trial on charges of conspiracy and murder of Hafsoh Lawal.

At the resumed hearing on Monday, three additional witnesses, including two police officers and an anatomic pathologist from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Olaleke Folaranmi, testified before the court.

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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. They said the suspect led investigators to his apartment and later to a dumpsite in the Olunlade area of the state capital, where parts of the dismembered body were recovered.

The policemen also stated that the investigation extended to the main dumpsite near the Okolowo–Eyenkorin Expressway, where additional body parts were allegedly recovered.

“Policemen were led to the dumpsite by Abdulrahman Bello to recover the human parts, but they had already been evacuated by refuse disposal personnel to the Okolowo–Eyenkorin Expressway. The next day, we met with a scavenger who assisted the police in recovering the parts. Abdulrahman later identified the human parts as those of the deceased,” an officer of the State CID testified.

The prosecution team also played a video in court showing the discovery of Hafsoh’s dismembered body parts inside the suspect’s apartment.

The video, along with a certificate of compliance, was admitted as evidence despite objections from the defence counsel, who argued that it did not comply with the state’s criminal justice law.

Another officer, Sergeant Moses, informed the court that the victim’s father had reported her missing on February 11. He added that Abdulrahman Bello was arrested after phone records revealed he was the last person to contact her.

He further testified that the suspect allegedly confessed and attempted to bribe him to stay silent while en route to the police station.

A search of the suspect’s residence reportedly uncovered Hafsoh’s belongings, blood-stained weapons, charms, and buckets containing human body parts soaked in gin.

Dr. Olaleke Folaranmi, a pathologist from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, confirmed through a postmortem examination that the remains were human parts. His report was admitted as Exhibit P17.

The presiding judge, Justice Hannah Ajayi, described the bail application for the suspects as a distraction and promised to give the case an accelerated hearing. She adjourned proceedings until May 21, 2025, for the continuation of the hearing.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE