A 23-year-old philosophy student at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ayomide Adeleye, has disclosed harrowing details regarding the murder of 18-year-old Christiana Idowu, a female church member.
According to a report by Vanguard, Adeleye, who is currently in custody at the Lagos State Police Command Tactical Unit in Ikeja, confessed to killing Idowu due to financial struggles. “I killed her because I had financial problems,” he explained, revealing that he lured her to his home under the pretence of fixing her phone.
The incident occurred when Idowu, an Industrial Training student at Yaba College of Technology, visited Adeleye’s residence. “She came to our house around 5 PM on the day of the incident and asked me to repair her phone,” he recounted.
He described the horrific details of the murder: “I just grabbed her and applied pressure. She started struggling but didn’t really shout because I had already suppressed her. I then squeezed her throat until she stopped moving.”
After the murder, Adeleye devised a gruesome plan to dispose of the body and extort money from Idowu’s mother. He detailed how he dug a shallow grave behind his house, stating, “By 4 AM the next day, I woke up and continued digging. Honestly, I didn’t close my eyes until daybreak.”
In a chilling twist, he then contacted Idowu’s mother to demand a ransom. “I started with, ‘Hello, madam. We have your daughter,’” he said.
Through manipulation and intimidation, he managed to extort N360,000 from the grieving mother. “I knew she didn’t have three million naira, but I was willing to accept any amount because I desperately needed money,” he admitted. After some negotiations, she agreed to send N350,000 through a betting account to avoid being traced.
Adeleye later asked for an additional N10,000, which the mother claimed was all she had left.
His arrest came after authorities traced the funds to his SportyBet account, where he had uploaded his National Identification Number. “If I hadn’t uploaded my NIN, it would have just been an empty account,” he noted, revealing that his attempt to cover his tracks inadvertently led to his capture. “Once I uploaded my NIN, all my details—my location, address, and name—were accessible. The girl’s phone was also with me, making it easy for them to track me.”
Expressing regret for his actions, Adeleye remarked, “I regret killing her because my mother and her mother were friends. I don’t deserve any mercy for what I’ve done, but I ask God to forgive me. What I did was completely wrong, and I feel remorseful.”
He added, “If there’s any way I could be given a second chance, I’d like one, but I truly deserve death. I’ve been contemplating suicide; while in the holding cell, I tried to find something sharp to cut myself with to bleed to death.”
