The High Court in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Salome Eleojo Adaidu.
Presiding judge, Justice Simon Aboki, found the 32-year-old gospel singer guilty of culpable homicide after evidence confirmed that he killed and dismembered the 24-year-old corps member. The court held that Ajayi’s actions contravened Section 221 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria, which prescribes the death penalty for such offences.
Ajayi was arrested on January 12, 2025, while attempting to dispose of Adaidu’s severed head in Lafia. Reports indicate that the victim had visited the convict at his residence prior to her murder.
Despite pleading not guilty during his arraignment, the court ruled that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The judgment brings an end to a case that drew nationwide attention due to the shocking nature of the crime.
