A 23-year-old philosophy student at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ayomide Adeleye, has confessed to the murder of 18-year-old Christiana Idowu, a fellow church member, due to financial difficulties.
According to the Vanguard, Adeleye, currently in custody at the Lagos State Police Command Tactical Unit in Ikeja, admitted his motive, stating that he killed her due to financial problems.
He said, “I killed her because I had financial problems.”
He further explained that he lured the victim to his residence under the guise of helping her repair her phone.
The incident occurred when Idowu, an Industrial Training student at Yaba College of Technology, visited Adeleye’s home.
“She came to our house around 5pm on the day of the incident and asked me to repair her phone,” Adeleye recounted.
He described the harrowing moment of the murder, saying, “I just grabbed her, applied pressure. She started struggling. She didn’t really shout because I already suppressed her. I then squeezed her throat, and she gave up.”
After the murder, Adeleye devised a plan to dispose of the body and extort money from the victim’s mother.
He revealed that he dug a shallow grave behind his compound and buried Idowu’s body early the next morning.
“By 4 am the following day, I woke up, I continued digging. Honestly, I did not close my eyes till daybreak.”
Adeleye then contacted Idowu’s mother, pretending to be her kidnapper and demanding ransom. “
“The first thing I said to her was, ‘Hello, madam, we have your daughter,’” he said. He manipulated the grieving mother and extorted N360,000 from her.
He recounted the negotiation for the ransom, stating, “I know for a fact that she didn’t have three million. Even if she did not have that amount, I was ready to collect any amount because I desperately needed money no matter the amount.”
Eventually, the victim’s mother transferred N350,000 to a SportyBet account Adeleye provided, and later sent an additional N10,000.
Adeleye’s arrest was facilitated through the SportyBet account, where he had uploaded his National Identification Number.
He explained, “If I had not uploaded my NIN, it would just be an empty account.”* This crucial detail allowed authorities to trace his identity and location.
“The girl’s phone was also with me, they could have traced the location of the phone, that was how they got my location,”* he added.
Adeleye expressed regret for his actions, stating, “I regret that I killed her because my mum and her mum were friends.”
He continued, “I don’t deserve any mercy for what I have done. At the same time, I ask God to forgive me. What I did was totally wrong and I regret it.”
Adeleye, overwhelmed by guilt, revealed that he had contemplated suicide while in police custody.
“I have been planning to kill myself. While I was in the guard room, I tried to look for any sharp object to cut myself so that I would bleed to death,” he confessed.
