Ogun Court Sentences Two to Death for Ritual Murder

Abeokuta, Ogun State – Two men, Mustakeem Balogun and Soliudeen Majekodunmi, were on Friday, July 11, 2025, sentenced to death by hanging by Justice Olugboyega Ogunfowora of the Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta. Their conviction stems from the gruesome ritual killing of 16-year-old Sofia Okeowo. In the same verdict, Lukmon Abdulgafar received a life imprisonment sentence for his role in the murder.

The heinous crime occurred on January 28, 2022, in the Kugba area of Abeokuta. According to the State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Oluwasina Ogungbade, Sofia had gone to visit her boyfriend, Mustakeem Balogun. After engaging in sexual intercourse, Balogun, with the support of Soliudeen Majekodunmi, viciously attacked and strangled Sofia before beheading her.

The convicts then mutilated Sofia’s body, cutting parts of her thighs and stuffing her headless remains into a sack. Her severed head was subsequently taken to Lukmon Abdulgafar’s house, where they attempted to burn it using a local burner.

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The chilling incident gained public attention in January 2022 after a viral video surfaced, showing the trio caught by community guards with Sofia’s head burning in the local burner while they recited incantations over her corpse.

Commissioner Ogungbade stated that the court found all three guilty of the crime, with Balogun and Majekodunmi receiving the death penalty for their direct involvement in the killing, and Abdulgafar receiving a life sentence. He emphasized that the current administration is committed to ensuring that crime does not thrive in the state, and this conviction will serve as a strong deterrent to other ritualists.