By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

At the resumed ongoing trial on Wednesday, the prime suspect in the murder of a final year female student of the Kwara state College of Education, Abdulrahman Bello, told the court that he single-handedly dismembered the body of Hafsoh after taking alcohol.

Testifying before Justice Hannah Ajayi of the state High Court, while opening his defence, the suspect said that his co-defendants did not have a hand in the incident.

Abdulrahman Bello also told the court that he used the knife and cutlass found by police detectives in his two-room apartment at Olunlade area of Ilorin, the state capital, to carry out the heinous act.

The suspect, who denied killing the deceased, said that Hafsoh died when she gasped during sexual intercourse due to an asthma attack.

According to him,”I went out to get an inhaler for her when I noticed that she was gasping because she had asthma. By the time I came back into the room, she had died. So, I left my place to take alcohol and returned to cut the body parts into pieces”, he told the court.”

During cross examination by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), the prime suspect also confirmed to the court that he did not call any of his neighbours to the incident, nor did he report the matter at the police station or took the body of the deceased to hospital, “because I was afraid of her father”.

The DPP put it to the suspect that the drained blood and human parts of the deceased found in his place had not decomposed after five days of the incident, because they were immersed in alcohol for preservation.

The suspect, however, denied keeping the blood and the handhand, purposely, for money making rituals.

He said he regretted all the actions he took over the incident, adding that he was deeply sad.

The prime suspect, who insisted that he did not kill the deceased, said that he loved her, “because I can’t ever meet her kind. She cared for my life. Even, I told the Police that she made me to do 2024 NABTEB examination. And that she made me to take JAMB form in preparation for the just concluded exam. She was exceptional in my life”.

He said he was tortured by the police to say in the video evidence, presented in court, that he poisoned the food taken by the deceased and that he strangulated her to kill her.

All the other four co-defendants in the matter denied knowledge of the killing of the deceased, when testifying before the court.

Meanwhile, all the defence counsels, unanimously, proposed seven days to file their written addresses, concurrently, before the court, while the prosecution counsel asked for 10 days to file his, after the defence counsels would have served theirs.

Justice Hannah Ajayi, who granted the requests, later adjourned the matter to July 2, 2025 for final adoption of the addresses.

End.
[7:23 PM, 6/11/2025] +234 803 786 0298: June 12 Remains an ineffaceable Watershed in our Democratic Journey, SDP

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA- THE Social Democratic Party, SDP has said that
June 12 that was officially designated as Nigeria’s Democracy Day in 2018, to honour the annulled 1993 presidential election, widely considered the freest and fairest in the i history and won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale, MKO Abiola will remain as an
ineffaceable Watershed in Nigeria’s Democratic Journey.

In a statement signed yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, the SDP noted that the memory of the date will continue to serve as an unfading guiding light In our quest for a sustainable Nigeria, just as stressed that June 12, 1993 was quite a defining moment in our journey towards democratic rule, and the date has become an eternal reference point in our journey towards nation-building.

According to him, the cherished sublime spirit of MKO of enhancing human dignity and making life truly meaningful for the people remains the driving ideology of the SDP, even in this trying time of great national distress, adding that the party will, therefore, continue to work for its preservation and propagation, as we consolidate and get strongly positioned for the task of nation-building.

The SDP National Publicity Secretary said, “Today, Nigeria celebrates, yet another national anniversary of the pride of place in the annals of our political history and the indelible marks that June 12, 1993, made in our national life, particularly as a historic watershed and being emblematic of our democracy, and shaping our collective efforts at nation-building.

“The SDP notes the date with fond reminiscences and a great reverence to the memory of the immortal symbol of our nacsent democracy, the late business mogul and African icon, Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, GCFR, who threaded the heroic path of uncommon sacrifice of becoming a matyr so that democracy rule could take firm roots in Nigeria. June 12, 1993, was quite a defining moment in our journey towards democratic rule, and the date has become an eternal reference point in our journey towards nation-building.

“Today, as always, we celebrate the great sacrificial exertions of the late generalisiomo of the Yorubas, whose fame, impact and influence transcended his exalted noble title, as he became a national symbol of true service and the torch-bearer for national redemption.

“On this special day, we also choose to pay deserved tribute to all the great Nigerian patriots – heroes and heroines, who fell on the battlefield of the fierce democratic struggles of that era.

“Thirty-three years after, it is undeniable that our dear nation is still groping in the dark, searching for the right pathway to national development and is far away from fulfilling its manifest destiny and potential for greatness

“As we mark this great day, Nigeria is sadly bogged down by the yoke of leadship conspiracy and the country is not appreciably moving towards attaining the lofty dreams and great vision that Abiola had for Nigeria and the people, and the transformational blueprint which an SDP government would have implemented in practical terms, for national development, beyond rhetoric. It is an undestatement that our nation is today, faced with arrested development in all areas that matter!

“Going by what presently obtains, and beyond political arguments, tokenism in mandate delivery, vacuous grandstanding, and the shenanigans of the political elites, our nation is not any way near the true ideals of the democracy for which Abiola fought and died. We do not appear to be on the desirable path of meeting the yearnings and aspiration of our people; government, today, is far detached from the noble cause of barnishig poverty; of engendering a sane society and safe Nigerian landscape; of commiting to making life truly meaningful for all Nigerians; of enthroning equity, social justice, and of building a good Nigerian society for all.

“In order for the nation to truly honour the sweet memory of Abiola, we must ensure that democracy takes roots firmly in our country and is made to yield dividends to the people as it should.

“The SDP, therefore, calls on the government at all levels to prioritise the welfare of the people and the security of lives and property, in accordance with Section 14 (2)(b) and Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as ammended).

“All Nigerian citizens, must as a matter of duty, also rise up from their inhibiting docility, agonization and inaction, to organise, promote and strongly defend the democracy that they presently enjoy, which as a treasured gem, was burnished in furnace of fire, and which, as a planting, was watered with tears and blood of our heroes.

“As a truly national political party that commits to the Nigerian agenda, the SDP will continue to align with the true interests of Nigeria and Nigerians. It will consistently work and collaborate to promote the good of the country, and will stay consistent with its founding ideology and principles, while pushing the frontiers of democratic consolidation, human dignity, as well as promote national peace and security.

“As Nigerians regrettably wallow in a quandary of unprecedented national chaos, despair and despondency, and as they earnestly look to the immediate political future of the country in the face of pervasive poverty, rising economic hardship and mounting social tensions, the SDP remains the only assured credible alternative platform and national vehicle that will unite our diverse groups. The party remains the only true hope in the nation’s political milleu today for us to strengthen our shared identity, fix the rots and dysfunctionalties, and reinforce our fractured national unity.

“The SDP is the alternative credible political party in Nigeria, today, that Nigerians look up to, as one best primed in ideology, form, structure and patriotic orientation, to help build a cohesive national identity for our country, create a sense of belonging for all, remove all forms of social and economic disparities, make life meaningful for the people, and help to enthrone effective and functioning bureaucracy that will unleash the country’s latent potentials for greatness as the giant of Africa, beyond mere sloganeering.

“Pains and weeping may endure a night, joy cometh in the morning. Let’s keep the faith in greater a Nigeria to come.”