Court Sentences Oluwatimileyin Ajayi To Death For Murder Of Salome Adaidu

The High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for the brutal murder of Salome Adaidu, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member. Justice Simon Aboki, who presided over the case, found Ajayi guilty of culpable homicide, affirming that the convict killed and dismembered the victim at his residence.

While delivering the judgment on Thursday, Justice Aboki ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. He dismissed the defendant’s claim of being unconscious after spending time with the deceased, as well as his claim that his confessional statement was made while in that state. Ajayi was convicted under Section 221 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria, which mandates the death penalty for culpable homicide.

“The law is clear on this, and the punishment is death. Therefore, the accused is hereby sentenced to death by hanging,”
Justice Aboki declared.

Ajayi’s arrest followed a shocking incident in Orozo, a border community between Abuja and Nasarawa, where churchgoers intercepted him carrying a polybag containing Salome’s severed head. A subsequent police investigation led to the recovery of her remaining body parts in his apartment in New Karshi, Karu Local Government Area. Salome was reported to have visited Ajayi’s home before she was killed. In a widely circulated interview following his arrest, Ajayi admitted to the crime, stating that he acted out of jealousy.

“I killed her because we don’t have each other all the time. It’s not something I planned. It happened on that day, and it happened. Not that I had the plan in mind, she was cheating.
She hides most of the things from me most time. I got to know from her phone. I saw her chats with other guys on the phone, that was why I decided,”
he confessed.