I recognised my daughter by the henna design on her severed hand – Father of slain Kwara student

The father of Miss Yetunde Hafsat, a 300-level student of the Kwara State College of Education who was allegedly murdered by a Facebook friend, AbdulRahman Bello, for ritual purpose, has demanded justice for his daughter.

Bello (25), resides at Offa Garage area but his family compound is at Isalekoto, Ilorin.

When Daily Trust visited the deceased’s  family House at Adefalu Compound, Oju Ekun Area, Ilorin, at the weekend, a prayer session was on for the repose of her soul amidst visits by sympathisers.

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Speaking with our reporter, the father of the deceased, Mr Ibrahim Lawal Adefalu, who described the development as very sad, said he recognised her dismembered hands with the lalle (henna design) she did for a naming ceremony she attended before her death.

He said, “We saw her slippers and other items in the suspect’s house. It was the ‘lalle’ in the hands we saw inside a pot that revealed she was Hasfat.

“I didn’t know the suspect as the boyfriend. Her fiancé she told me about is one Lukman and they were preparing to come to ask her hand in marriage. He also joined us in her search. We want justice so that people could learn lessons from the incident and the society would be at rest,” the school teacher added.

The police in a statement on Sunday gave further accounts of the incident.

According to the PPRO, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi (SP), ‘’During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the killing the victim.

“Further search at his residence led to the recovery of exhibits, including two mobile phones and slippers of the deceased, dismembered body parts (both hands), a plastic bottle containing the victim’s blood, a cutlass, a knife, an axe, a wooden box of black soap, a sack containing charms and a centre table used in carrying out this heinous act. They confessed that the intent was to do oshole/ajoo ówò (money rituals),” she added.

Daily Trust had reported the arrest of the self-acclaimed cleric, Bello, on Saturday over the gruesome murder.

The deceased reportedly went missing on February 10, 2025, after attending a naming ceremony.

While eating during the event, she received a call and left the programme only to be declared missing thereafter.

The suspect allegedly met her through Facebook, where he obtained her phone number through pretence and invited her over.

“The suspect was arrested but initially denied knowledge of the lady’s whereabouts. However, when the police searched his house, he confessed that the lady came around but died from an asthma attack.”

The suspect is said to be the son of a prominent cleric from Isalekoto, who recently passed away.