The Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has sentenced Abdulrahman Bello to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of Hafsoh Lawal, a final-year student of the College of Education, Ilorin.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Hannah Ajayi described the act as “cruel, wicked, and an extreme display of human wickedness.” Bello was found guilty of luring the victim—his girlfriend—to his residence under false pretences of love and plans for marriage, only to kill and dismember her body for ritual purposes.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on February 10, 2025, at the Olunlade area of Ilorin. Bello invited Hafsoh to his house, where he allegedly had sexual relations with her before killing her. A cutlass used to dismember her body, a bottle filled with blood, and some of her personal belongings were found in his room during a police search. Decomposed parts of the victim’s body were later discovered at a nearby dumpsite.

The court acquitted and discharged four other defendants—Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Jamiu Uthman, Suleiman Muyideen, and Abdulrahman Jamiu—of any complicity in the crime. Justice Ajayi held that there was no evidence linking the four to the murder, thus clearing them of all charges.

“His confession of love and plan to marry her are all concocted lies to lure her to his residence in order to kill her,” the judge declared in her ruling.