If 23-year-old Ayomide Adeleye, a third-year Philosophy student at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), had understood the profound consequences of taking another person’s life, he might have chosen to remain in poverty.
The slender, dark-skinned young man, who lives with his parents in Ikorodu, Lagos, now finds himself behind bars at the Lagos State Police Command’s Tactical Unit in Ikeja.
Filled with regret, he lamented his fate, admitting that after his arrest, he attempted to cut his fingers with sharp objects in an effort to bleed to death, but alert security personnel thwarted his plan.
His story:
“I was born in Surulere Local Government Area in June 2001. My family later moved to Ikorodu, where we own a house. I have three siblings, but one is no longer alive. I’m the first son, and my father is a boat driver. Before I was born, both of my parents worked at Eko Hotel, but one of them had to stop after their marriage. My dad left his job while my mom continued working there until 2011. We attend the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
How it happened:
“I hadn’t been home for over six months. Christiana Idowu, the 18-year-old victim, kept contacting me while I was in school, asking me to repair her phone. I had helped her with it once before. She was a student on industrial training at Yaba College of Technology. We had known each other for three years as we both attended the same church.
“When I returned home to Lagos, she came over to my house around 5 p.m. on the day of the incident. She brought her phone for repairs. I saw that it had a battery and screen issue, but she didn’t want to replace the battery, so I planned to do a temporary fix.
Why did you kill her?
“I was struggling financially and in a moment of desperation, I decided to strangle her while she was distracted with my phone. I then called her mother, claiming Christiana had been kidnapped, and demanded ransom. It all happened quickly; I grabbed her and applied pressure. She didn’t scream, and I squeezed her throat until she died.
“I positioned her body on a seat and took a picture to send to her mother. I didn’t send it right away and left her body in the shop. Later that night, I tried to dig a grave in a small farm behind our compound, but it was difficult. The rain had softened the ground, but I couldn’t dig deep. At 4 a.m. the next day, I finished the grave, though it wasn’t deep enough to cover her properly. Exhausted, I considered cutting off her head to make it easier to bury her, but I didn’t have the nerve. So, I kept digging and finally buried her.
How did you contact her mother?
“Her mother’s number was on her phone, and luckily, she didn’t have a passcode. I called her and said, ‘We have your daughter.’ She seemed skeptical at first, but after I sent the photo of her sitting in the chair, she asked what I wanted. I demanded ₦3 million, but she said she couldn’t afford it. Eventually, she offered ₦350,000, which she transferred to a Sporty Bet account I had given her to avoid being traced.
“It took three days for me to access the money because Sporty Bet required me to play a game before withdrawing funds. When I uploaded my National Identification Number (NIN) for verification, they released the money. I asked her for more, and she sent an additional ₦10,000. Altogether, I received ₦360,000, which I used for personal and family expenses.”
How were you caught?
“I wasn’t arrested by the police; soldiers picked me up. They tracked me through my Sporty Bet account because I had uploaded my NIN, which revealed my personal information. They could also have traced Christiana’s phone, which I still had.”
How do you feel about what you’ve done?
“I deeply regret killing Christiana, especially since our mothers were friends. I deserve no mercy for my actions, though I pray for God’s forgiveness. I know what I did was wrong, and I’m filled with remorse. If given a second chance, I’d take it, but I believe I deserve to die. I’ve even attempted suicide while in custody by trying to cut myself with sharp objects.”
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