A High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for the brutal murder of a serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Salome Adaidu.
Delivering the judgment on Wednesday, Justice Simon Aboki found the 32-year-old defendant guilty of culpable homicide punishable under Section 221 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria.
The court ruled that Ajayi deliberately killed and dismembered the 24-year-old corps member in a premeditated act of violence.
The deceased, Salome Adaidu, was serving with NICON Insurance in Abuja before she was gruesomely murdered on a visit to the convict’s residence in the Papalana area of New Karshi, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Ajayi was arrested on Sunday, January 12, 2025, while allegedly attempting to dispose of Salome’s severed head.
The police also recovered the knife and machetes reportedly used in carrying out the act, parading the suspect shortly after his arrest.
During police investigations and a televised interview with Channels Television, Ajayi confessed to the crime.
He admitted that he killed Salome after discovering chats on her phone that he believed were evidence of infidelity. He said the act was spontaneous, not planned, and showed no remorse.
“I killed her because we don’t have each other all the time. It happened that day,” he said. “She hides most things from me. I saw her chats with other guys on her phone. That was why I decided.”
Despite the horror of the crime, Ajayi expressed no regret, saying, “Life is reciprocal. If you must do something to someone, you have to be reciprocal.”
The case, which drew national outrage, especially among youth and women groups, reached a dramatic conclusion with the judge’s pronouncement of the death penalty.
Several advocacy groups had earlier called for speedy justice, describing Salome’s murder as a disturbing reminder of the risks many young women face, even in relationships they believe are safe.
Salome’s family, visibly shaken by the tragic loss, had earlier demanded justice, while Ajayi’s father pleaded for leniency.
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