Court Sentences Three Men To Death For Killing Osun Widow For Money Ritual

An Osun State High Court has sentenced three men to death by hanging for killing a 53-year-old woman, Asiata Yekeen, for money ritual in the Ile-Ogbo community.

The convicts, Muideen Tunji, Yusuf Muslim, and Rabiu Fatai, were found guilty of planning the crime, murdering the victim, and illegally possessing human body parts.

Yekeen was reported missing after family members and acquaintances could no longer reach her.

This led Suleiman Akorede and Yekini Suleiman to report the matter to the police and the Osun Amotekun Corps in Ile-Ogbo.

Investigations later resulted in the arrest of the three suspects.

They were charged with conspiracy, murder, and unlawful possession of human parts, offences under Osun State criminal laws.

The defendants were first arraigned before the court on January 31, 2023, where they denied all the charges.

During the trial, the prosecution lawyer, Dele Akintayo from the Ministry of Justice, told the court that Tunji owed the victim money and invited her to his house, claiming he wanted to pay her back.

Akintayo said when Yekeen arrived, Muslim and Fatai were also present.

According to the prosecution, the men assaulted Yekeen and later strangled her to death.

Her body was cut into pieces, some parts were removed, and the remains were buried in a shallow grave near Tunji’s house.

He told the court that neighbours became suspicious after noticing Yekeen enter Tunji’s house shortly before news of her disappearance spread.

Akintayo said that Tunji fled when he sensed that security agents were closing in, hiding at Muslim’s home, while Fatai kept some of the victim’s body parts.

The prosecution presented six witnesses, submitted 13 pieces of evidence, and tendered confessional statements made by the accused, asking the court to punish them according to the law.

Lawyers representing the defendants argued that the evidence against their clients was weak and mostly based on hearsay, and urged the court to dismiss the charges.

In her ruling, Justice Fatimah Sodamade said the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

She found all three men guilty on all counts and sentenced them to four years in prison for conspiracy, five years for unlawful possession of human parts, and death by hanging for murder.

KanyiDaily recalls that police recently arrested a man, Amos Daniel, also known as “Gambit,” for allegedly killing his girlfriend inside a hotel room in Lagos State.