Ayomide Adeleye, a 200-level Philosophy student at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ogun State, has confessed to murdering Christianah Idowu, a 300-level student at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB).
According to The New Daily Prime, Idowu left her home in the Ita Oluwo area of Ikorodu on August 19 to travel to the University of Lagos for her Industrial Training (IT). She did not return, leading to her being declared missing. The missing persons flyer indicated that Idowu had been kidnapped.
The Foundation for Investigative Journalists (FIJ) reported that Adeleye confessed to the 174 Battalion of the Nigerian Army how he killed Idowu. The 23-year-old was apprehended by the military after tracking Idowu’s phone to his residence in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State. Although Adeleye initially denied abducting Idowu, claiming he had her phone because he was a phone repairer and that unknown persons gave him the phone to repair, he later admitted to the crime.
Adeleye confessed to killing Idowu the same day she went missing. Idowu and Adeleye knew each other as students in Ogun State, attended the same church, and lived in the same Ita Oluwo community. FIJ reported that on the day of her disappearance, Idowu had taken shelter in Adeleye’s family shop during a rainstorm. Adeleye invited her into his house when the rain intensified.
Adeleye admitted that he killed Idowu when she resisted his attempt to sexually assault her. He then contacted Idowu’s mother, pretending to be from northern Nigeria, and demanded a ransom of N3 million. This amount was later bargained down to N350,000. During the ransom negotiations, Idowu was already dead. Adeleye falsely claimed he was involved in organ harvesting and threatened to sell her body parts for N1.5 million if he did not receive the ransom. Idowu’s mother, a widow, transferred the N350,000 to Adeleye’s account. He was arrested after the military traced the ransom payment details.
Adeleye also told the 174 Battalion that he buried Idowu in a shallow grave on his property. The Lagos Police Command confirmed on its X page that the case has been transferred to them for further investigation.
“23-year-old Ayomide Adeleye has been handed over to @LagosPoliceNG by the 9 Brigade Nigerian Army. The handover took place today, September 5, 2024, at about 1400hrs. The investigation is ongoing,” the statement read.
