A 29-year-old Islamic teacher, Abdulrahman Bello, has denied involvement in the death of Yetunde Lawal, a final-year student of Kwara State College of Education, whose body was discovered in his residence. Bello, who was arrested on Saturday, claims he is a “victim of circumstance.”
In a video that started circulating online, Bello, who introduced himself as Mohammed, stated that Yetunde was his girlfriend. He alleged that on the day of her disappearance, she had attended an event and returned in the afternoon, complaining of hunger. He claimed he left to buy food for her, but when he came back, he found her struggling to breathe.
Speaking in Yoruba, he introduced himself, saying, “My name is Mohammed. I’m a Muslim cleric.” When asked about his education, he replied, “I’m about to gain admission into KWASU.”
Recounting the incident, he said, “The girl is Hafusa. She is my girlfriend. I met her on Facebook.” He added that she told him she had an event at 1 p.m. and returned around 3 p.m., complaining of hunger. “She told me she hadn’t eaten, so I went to get her food. However, she was gasping for breath when I got back.”
Bello further alleged that Yetunde had previously told him she was asthmatic.
However, when she died, he claimed he panicked and did not know what to do. Instead of reporting the incident, he admitted to dismembering her body and dumping the remains at a public refuse site.
“I was in shock when she died, so I couldn’t cry out for help. I dismembered her body and disposed of it at the public refuse dump because I couldn’t think of any better way. I have never done this before. This is my first time.”
Yetunde Lawal had been declared missing on February 11 after she failed to return home. Her remains were later discovered in Bello’s house, along with fetish items, leading to suspicions of possible ritual activity.
