A High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced gospel singer Timileyin Ajayi, to death by hanging for the murder of Salome Adaidu, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Justice Simon Aboki, who delivered the judgment on Wednesday, found Ajayi guilty of culpable homicide punishable by death under Section 221 of the Penal Code applicable in northern Nigeria.
Ajayi was arrested in January after he was caught with the severed head of the deceased in a polythene bag at Agwan Sarki, Orozo, a border area between Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Following his arrest, he confessed to the crime during police interrogation.
“I didn’t plan to kill her. She is always cheating. She hides most things from me. I discovered she was cheating when I saw her phone. I got angry seeing her chat with other guys, and that’s why I killed her,” she said.
Despite his earlier confession, the gospel singer pleaded not guilty during trial.
The court, however, held that the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence linking Ajayi to the gruesome murder. The judge noted that the accused not only confessed to the crime but also showed no remorse.
Ajayi had claimed he and Adaidu were in a romantic relationship for about a year before the incident. But the deceased’s family strongly refuted this, stating that Salome never had a relationship with the convict.
Justice Aboki ruled that Ajayi’s actions were premeditated and cold-blooded, stressing that such a heinous act deserved the maximum punishment under the law.