One year after the brutal murder of Christiana Idowu, a 300-level student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), her father, Idowu Oluwafemi, has made a heartfelt appeal to Nigerians, lamenting the lack of progress in the case against the alleged killer, Ayomide Adeleye.
In a video obtained by PUNCH Online on Sunday, Mr Idowu expressed deep frustration over the silence surrounding the prosecution of Adeleye, a 23-year-old philosophy student of Olabisi Onabanjo University, who had confessed to the crime.
“Hello Nigerians, I’m Mr. Idowu Oluwafemi, the father of Christiana Idowu, who was murdered by a friend,” he said.
“It’s getting to a year now and the boy was arrested in the police custody. I’ve not heard anything concerning the case.”
Suspect confessed to murder and extortion
Christiana was abducted in August 2024 while travelling from her home in Itaoluwo, Ikorodu, to the University of Lagos, Yaba, where she was undergoing industrial training.
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According to reports, Adeleye lured her to his residence under the guise of helping to fix her phone.
The Lagos State Police Command later confirmed that Adeleye was handed over by the Nigerian Army and confessed to killing Christiana.
“I killed her because I had financial problems,” he was quoted as saying. Investigators revealed that Adeleye strangled the victim and extorted ₦360,000 from her mother while pretending she was still alive.
His arrest followed a digital trail linked to his SportyBet account, where he had uploaded his National Identification Number.
In his emotional plea, Mr Idowu described his daughter as a brilliant student and called on the public to help ensure justice is served.
“My daughter, she’s all that brilliant and I want you Nigerians to come to my aid,” he said.
“Please, I’m helpless, I’m in the dark… I don’t know whether the guy has been released at the moment. Please, help me, kindly help me.”
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Police and correctional service confirm suspect remains in custody
Responding to the video, Force Public Relations Officer Benjamin Hundeyin, who served as Lagos State Police Command spokesperson when the case first broke, confirmed that Adeleye remained in custody.
He cited a January 2025 statement from the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), which clarified that the suspect had not been released.
In the release dated 6 January, the NCoS dismissed rumours suggesting Adeleye was no longer in prison.
“A misleading report in some sections of the media concocting that an Awaiting Trial Person, Ayomide Adeleye, ‘is not in prison,’ has come to the attention of the Nigerian Correctional Service,” the statement read.
The Service confirmed that Adeleye, aged 23, with Custody Number S-1995/24, was remanded at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kirikiri, Lagos, for offences of kidnapping and murder.
He was first remanded on 26 September 2024 by Magistrate Court 13A, Ogba, and was produced again on 16 December 2024.
The NCoS stressed:
”The Service wishes to categorically state that the said inmate is still in the custody of the MSCC Kirikiri, Lagos, as ordered by the court, against the information being peddled by the mischievous report.”
It also clarified that confusion may have arisen due to another inmate with a similar name who had been discharged earlier in 2024, and warned journalists against spreading false information.
Hundeyin confirmed that the matter was pending advice from the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP), and urged Nigerians to refer to the Correctional Service’s clarification as proof of Adeleye’s continued detention.
Speaking with Legit.ng, Imaan Muhammad, an educationist based in Nigeria, commented on the death of Christianah Idowu:
“This is heartbreaking and unacceptable. A student was murdered, yet justice is dragging. It sends a dangerous message to young people in our schools that their safety and dignity can be ignored. Education thrives in safe environments. If we can’t protect our students or deliver justice swiftly, we’re failing the very foundation of learning.”
After death of female student, alleged killer speaks
Legit.ng earlier reported that a 29-year-old Islamic teacher, Abdulrahman Bello, who was arrested on February 15 for the alleged murder of Yetunde Lawal, a final-year student at Kwara State College of Education, has claimed he is a “victim of circumstance.”
In a video that started trending on February 15, Bello, who introduced himself as Mohammed, denied involvement in the victim’s death, stating that she was his girlfriend.
According to Bello, Yetunde had mentioned attending an event at 1 pm on the day of her death but returned after 3 pm.