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Abdulrahman Bello, a 29-year-old cleric and the main suspect in the murder of Hafsoh Lawal, has revised his previous testimony in court regarding the death of the final-year student from Kwara State College of Education, presenting a new version of the events surrounding the unfortunate incident.
Bello confessed to having dismembered Hafsoh's body alone, but he maintained that he was not accountable for her death.
While testifying before Justice Hannah Ajayi at the State High Court, during the presentation of his defense, he stated that his co-defendants were uninvolved in the matter.
The suspect also informed the court that he utilized the knife and cutlass discovered by police detectives in his two-room residence at the Olunlade area of Ilorin, the state capital, to dismember the deceased's body.
The cleric, who denied killing Hafsoh, claimed that she died after gasping during intercourse due to an asthma attack.
These statements contradict his prior confession in which he admitted to murdering the final-year student for a money ritual. "I went out to fetch an inhaler for her when I saw she was gasping due to her asthma. When I returned to the room, she had already passed away.
So, I left to drink alcohol and came back to cut the body into pieces," he told the court. During cross-examination by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), the main suspect also acknowledged that he did not alert any neighbors to the situation, nor did he report it to the police or take the deceased's body to the hospital, saying, "because I was afraid of her father." "I loved her deeply. She transformed my life.
She encouraged me to sign up for NABTEB and JAMB,” he said, becoming emotional in court. He also confessed to preserving the body parts in alcohol but denied having any plans to use them for rituals, contrary to the prosecution's assertions.
The suspect additionally claimed he was coerced by police officers into making a video confession in which he admitted to poisoning and strangling Hafsoh, claims he now contests. Meanwhile, the four co-defendants charged alongside Bello maintained their innocence, stating they had no awareness of the incident.
After hearing submissions from both the defense and prosecution, Justice Ajayi approved requests for additional time to submit final written arguments.
The case was then postponed to July 2, 2025, for the presentation of final submissions.
