Abdulrahman Bello, the main suspect in the killing of Kwara College of Education student Hafsoh Lawal, shocked the court Wednesday by confessing he alone cut the victim’s body into pieces after drinking alcohol.
Testifying before Justice Hannah Ajayi at the Kwara State High Court, Bello claimed his four co-defendants were innocent. He admitted using knives and cutlasses found in his Olunlade apartment to dismember Hafsoh’s body but denied murdering her.
“Hafsoh didn’t die by my hand,” Bello told the court. “She had an asthma attack during sex and died while I went to buy an inhaler. When I returned, I drank alcohol before cutting her body.”
The suspect said fear of Hafsoh’s father prevented him from reporting her death to neighbors or police. He rejected prosecution claims that he preserved her blood and body parts in alcohol for rituals, insisting: “I loved her deeply. She helped me register for NABTEB and JAMB exams.”
Under cross-examination by the Director of Public Prosecution, Bello alleged police forced him to falsely confess in a video that he poisoned and strangled Hafsoh. His four co-defendants all denied involvement in the killing.
Justice Ajayi adjourned the case to July 2 for final arguments after granting prosecutors 10 days and defense lawyers 7 days to submit written addresses.
