Justice for Slained Corps Member Salome As Court Sentences Gospel Singer Ajayi to Death by Hanging

By: Israel Adeleke 

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports as gathered that a High Court sitting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, has sentenced Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for the brutal murder and dismemberment of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Salome Adaidu

OTN News further reports as gathered that, delivering judgment on Thursday, the presiding judge, Justice Simon Aboki, found Ajayi guilty of culpable homicide, ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

OTN News recalls that Ajayi was arrested in 2022 after he was reportedly caught by churchgoers in Orozo, a community on the boundary between Abuja and Nasarawa State, carrying a polybag that contained the severed head of the victim. 

Subsequent police investigations led to the discovery of Salome's remaining body parts in Ajayi’s apartment in New Karshi, Karu Local Government Area.

In court, Justice Aboki dismissed Ajayi’s defense that he became unconscious after a romantic encounter with the victim and was not in control of his faculties when he gave a confessional statement. 

The judge ruled that the evidence presented was overwhelming and pointed squarely to Ajayi's culpability.

“The law is clear on this, and the punishment is death. Therefore, the accused is hereby sentenced to death by hanging,” Justice Aboki declared, citing Section 221 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria, which prescribes capital punishment for homicide.

The harrowing murder of the corps member, who had visited Ajayi at his residence, sparked public outrage when the suspect’s post-arrest interview went viral. 

In the footage, Ajayi admitted to killing Salome, claiming it was an act of jealousy triggered by alleged infidelity.

He had said, “I killed her because we don’t have each other all the time. It’s not something I planned. It happened on that day, and it happened. She hides most of the things from me most time. I got to know from her phone. I saw her chats with other guys.”

OTN News observes that the case, which dragged on for several months, attracted national attention and renewed calls for better protection of young Nigerians serving under the NYSC.

However, the judgment brings a measure of closure to a case that horrified many across the country, with the court affirming that justice has been served for the slain corps member.