An Islamic cleric in Ilorin, Abdulrahman Mohad Ballo is currently in police custody for alleged ritual killing of Lawal Hafsoh Yetunde, a final year student of the Kwara State College of Education Ilorin.
The incident, according to reports occurred on Monday, February 10, 2025.
The suspected ritualist reportedly lured Yetunde after connecting with her on Facebook and obtaining her phone number.
It was gathered that Hafsoh was attending a naming ceremony when she received a phone call from a friend. She left her food to answer the call and was not found again afterwards.
Family members and friends searched for her in vain before reporting her disappearance to the police at the Oja Oba Police Station in Ilorin the following day.
Police investigators used her phone records to trace her last call, leading them to Ballo, who resides in the Offa Garage area of Ilorin, though his family house is in Isalekoto.
The suspect at first reportedly denied knowledge of whereabouts of the victim.
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Along the line of police investigations, when police searched his house, Ballo claimed that Hafsoh was in his area but had died from an asthma attack after visiting his residence.
Further investigation led to the discovery of Yetunde’s dismembered body hidden in a bowl, along with tools used to mutilate her remains.
Further evidence suggested that this was not Ballo’s first ritual killing, as investigators found a table equipped with body dismemberment tools in his room.
Meanwhile, Ballo, reportedly the son of a prominent but recently deceased cleric in Isalekoto, Ilorin, remains in police custody at the Kwara State Police Headquarters as investigations continue.
The police is yet to release official statements as the time of filing this reports.
