On Tuesday, Justice Ibrahim Yusuf of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin sentenced two students, Abdulazeez Ismail and Ajala Oluwatimileyin, to death for the murder of Blessing Olajide, a 300-level undergraduate at the University of Ilorin.
On June 2, 2021, the two attacked Olajide and killed her at her sister’s home in Ilorin, Kwara State’s Tanke neighborhood.
Two siblings, Abdulkarim Shuaib (aka Easy) and Kareem Rasheed (aka Rasworld), were each given a sentence of three years in prison for taking money from the deceased’s Guarantee Trust Bank account a few days after she was killed. Justice Yusuf also sentenced another student, Oyeyemi Omogbolahan, to life improvement.
The court released and cleared three more people: Akande Oladoja, Daud Adebayo (Bashman), 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 on 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.
Justice Yusuf said, “While the prosecution established the ingredients of conspiracy and armed robbery against the first three accused persons, it proved beyond a reasonable doubt that injury was inflicted on the deceased and she was raped to death.”
“I direct that Abdulazeez Ismail and Ajala Moses Oluwatimileyin be hanged by the neck until they are pronounced 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 really too bad. And that demonstrates the need for us to strive toward this nation’s future.”
