At the resumption of Wednesday’s hearing of the murder case of Hafsoh Lawal, a 24-year-old final year student of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, the Principal Suspect, Abdulrahman Ballo was brought to court along with his alleged accomplices.
ROYAL NEWS reports that the case was adjourned till today by Justice Hannah Olushola Ajayi.
Abdulrahman Ballo’s counsel, by Barr. A. J. Ojederin and other four defendants were also duly represented in the court.
He was however docked and took oath and was led in defence by his counsel, Barr. Ojerinde.
In his revelation, Abdulrahman said: On 10th February 2025, a lady Hafsoh Adefalu by name, a who was my girlfriend came to my house that day. She has being making efforts to visit me for a long time but I didn’t have time. But on the said day, she made me to know that she was hungry and I went out to get her bread and Fanta and she told me that she was an Ulcer patient and that the Fanta will affect her.
“I told her that you never informed me that you have ulcer, what you told me was asthma. I had to go out to get her rice which qe ate together. As lovers, as we were eating, we started romancing each other. After eating, we left the palour and entered into the room where we had sex. During the sex, I discovered that she started behaving strange different from sex mood. I quickly checked her bag to see if I will see her inhaler.
“I didn’t see her inhaler in the bag so I had to rush to a nearby pharmacy if I could get an inhaler for her. I met my landlord on the way and she asked me what the problem was because I was sweating and I told her I want to quickly get something at the Pharmacy. By the time I came back, I met her lifeless body.”
Speaking further, Abdulrahman said: “The situation became freithening to me, I was confused. I was worried because she had once taken me to see her father to allow me to marrë her. Her father refused because he said I didn’t have Western education and the lady later advised me to go and enrol for NABTEB so that once I gain admission, her dad will allow her to marry me.
“I became worried and wandering about on tbe road and I saw a shop where Alchocol was displayed, I went there, bought it and drank it. I went home and on my way, a spirit said to my mind that I she had weight more than me a and I would I do with her lifeless body without anybody’s knowledge since her father had rejected my proposal to marry her.
“I believe that if he hear about her daughter’s death, he can do anything to me. The thought was that I start pieceing her parts and I took to the mindset and I commence the process. After that I dumped some of the parts in the government dustbin and I sat down inside the compound and crying till day-break.
“The following morning, I went to our family at Isale-koto area, Ilorin, Kwara State, I was there until 14th February 2025 when the police operatives came to arrest me and followed me to my house. When they (Officer Dahunsi Eniola and others) took me to the police headquarters, I inquired from me how the incidence happened.
“One Officer Azeez asked me if I have ever had any court case before and I responded to him that “No! this is my first time. He then said this is the type of case that he likes to handle. He therefore directed them to take me to the cell. Around midnight, he asked them to bring me out from the cell and rook me to a room. They asked me that which hand do I usually use to write and I told them that is it my right hand. That’s how they started to torture me, at a point, they left me and said they just started with me. They asked me to cooperate with them.
“They later brought out another statement sheet different from the earlier statement which I had written. I therefore raised alarm that there are some differences in the new statement and they started torturing me, that was how my eyes turned Red. I later conceded to them and allowed them to do whatever they like. They didn’t allow family members to see me. They asked me to study the statement because we are going to record the video which we did up to six times before they got what they wanted therein. ”
In addition, “On 16th February, I was taken out of the cell and I saw a polythene bag filled with some items which I was told to open. I don’t know where they got the polythene bag from. I was arraigned before the court and was remanded at Oke-Kura prison. I was inside the prison facility when the DSS came to pick five of us. I was kept in a separate room but I don’t know where they kept other. We spent 1month and 3 days at the DSS custody.
“The first day that I was brought out from the cell at the DSS, I was told that they have the mandates to investigate on two things, and I was told that I should cooperate with them and that order has come from above that they can kill me if I don’t cooperate. The first mandate was to unravel the people that I sell human parts to and I told them that I don’t know anything in that regard. I made it clear to them that I had told God that I will not tell lies in this matter.
“They always torture me twice in a week. I told the DSS investigator that late Hafsoh Adefalu was somebody that I love and I cannot come across someone like that again in my life. She took care of me and I also planned to take care of her. She encouraged me to register for NABTEB and I revealed so many things she had done for me which I can never forget.
After serious torture, I was asked if I was the one that killed her and I quickly admitted and said YES! They also asked if I used poison to kill her and I said yes but I don’t know the name of the poison. They now asked me if I strangled her and I said she has weight more than me, therefore, it is not possible to do that for her. Iafter serious torture, I had to admit to their suggestion to me that I strangled her to death.
And I have being emphasizing since the beginning of this case both and the police and DSS offices as well as before the Magistrate that other suspects don’t know anything about it. ”
In his cross-examination, the DPP, Ayoola Akande, asked Abdulrahman to identify a picture showed to him and he confirmed that it was late Hafsoh’s picture adding that they met sometimes in 2024. He couldn’t tell the court the course that late Hafsoh Adefalu was studying at the Kwara State College of Education before she died.
Ayoola added that Abdulrahman should tell the court if he know the deceased’s father and he responded that, YES! but couldn’t recall the day he went to their house and confirmed that all the items such as Cutlass, Axe, and Knife recovered from his room belong to him.
He confirmed that the human parts brought before the court as exihibit was the same items in the said polythene bag earlier mentioned.
When asked how he knows that Hafsoh Adefalu was dead since he doesn’t have the knowledge of Medicine, Abdulrahman said nobody certified her dead before he started to dismember her parts. When he was asked of the whereabout of late Hafsoh’s head, he said that he has thrown it away together with other parts.
“You claimed that you love a lady had done so much in your life and you couldn’t move ahead to confirm if she was dead or not before you start pieceing her body”, Akande asked Abdulrahman, he said he dismembered her parts because he was afraid of her father.
After all the cross-examinations processes, Abdulrahman told the court that he regret all the circumstances that led to the death of Hafsoh Adefalu and how he dismembered her .
The court went on recess at exactly 12.19pm.
Details later…..
