A High Court sitting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital on Thursday sentenced a gospel singer, Oluwatimileyin Ajayi, to death by hanging for killing his girlfriend, Salome Adaidu.
The 24-year-old who was a serving corps member, was said to have been murdered by the 31-year-old convict, when she visited him at his residence in Papaladna village of Karshi Development Area, under the Karu Local Government Area in Nasarawa State.
Delivering his judgement, the presiding judge, Justice Simon Aboki said the prosecuting counsel proved their case beyond every reasonable doubt that the convict killed the victim at his residence.
The judgment posited that the defendant’s claim that he became unconscious after having a good time with his girlfriend, and was unconscious when he wrote his confessional statement did not hold water.
He, therefore, found Ajayi guilty of the offence, after several months of trial.
Justice Aboki noted that Ajayi was convicted under Section 221 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria, which prescribes a death penalty for persons guilty of such an offence.
“The law is clear on this, and the punishment is death. Therefore, the accused is hereby sentenced to death by hanging,” Justice Aboki ruled.
Meanwhile, in an interview shortly after the court session at the last adjourned date of May 20, 2025, the prosecuting counsel, Raymond Umaru, urged the court to establish its principles of law in the matter and convict the defendant.
He noted that based on the evidence available on the matter including that of Exhibit L which was about the confessional statement of the defendant, which he admitted in court without any objections, the court should impose the maximum mandatory sentence provided by law on the defendant.
“Our submission is that Exhibit L is evidence before the court and it is consistent with other facts established by the other witnesses.
“So, we are just urging the court to look at those evidences together, particularly Exhibit L and see that it is corroborated by the other evidences,” he said.
On his part, counsel for the defendant, Joseph Tuku-Bisong, said, “The matter borders on three exhibits namely, Exhibit L which is the purported confessional statement; Exhibit N_1 which is the matchet and Exhibit N_2 which are those small knives.
He added, “We are simply telling the court that though they have been admitted, there is something called probative value. Don’t attach probative value to those exhibits.
“Our prayer to the court is that the judge, based on the evidence before him, should discharge and acquit the defendant.”
