Court Sentence Two Undergraduates To Death Over Rape And Murder Of Unilorin Student
Tuesday saw the execution of two students, Abdulazeez Ismail and Ajala Oluwatimileyin, for the rape and murder of Blessing Olajide, a 300-level undergraduate student at the University of Ilorin, in a Kwara State High Court at Ilorin presided over by Justice Ibrahim Yusuf.
On June 2, 2021, the two attacked Olajide and killed her at her sister’s home in Ilorin, Kwara State’s Tanke neighborhood.
Oyeyemi Omogbolahan, a different student, was also given a life improvement order by Justice Yusuf, while two siblings, Abdulkarim Shuaib and Kareem Rasheed, were each given a three-year prison term for taking money from the deceased’s Guarantee Trust Bank account a few days after she was killed.
The court released and cleared three more people: Akande Oladoja, Daud Adebayo, and Abdullateef Abdulrahman.
Justice Yusuf found the eight defendants guilty on 11 counts, including conspiracy, rape, culpable homicide, and theft of funds. Two other telephone repairmen who assisted in unlocking Olajide’s phone and helped with the withdrawal of money from her account were also found guilty of conspiracy and theft charges.
The prosecutor established its case beyond a reasonable doubt, according to the court, which noted that 13 witnesses testified for the prosecution while 16 witnesses, including the accused, were called to testify for the defendants.
While the prosecution demonstrated the elements of conspiracy and armed robbery against the first three accused individuals, Justice Yusuf stated, “It proved beyond a reasonable doubt that injury was done on the deceased and she was raped to death.
I command that Ajala Moses Oluwatimileyin and Abdulazeez Ismail be hanged by their necks until they are declared dead.
Salman Jawondo, the prosecution’s attorney and a former attorney general and commissioner for justice, stated to the press following the court hearing:
“The irony of it all is that all of the parties involved are young males, ranging in age from 19 to 23. It’s too bad. And that demonstrates the need for us to strive toward this nation’s future.
