The Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin has upheld the death sentence by hanging imposed on Abdulrahman Bello for the murder of Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a student of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, bringing an end to one of the state’s most closely watched murder cases.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Gabriel Omoniyi Kolawole, the appellate court dismissed Bello’s appeal, ruling that the prosecution successfully established the offences of murder and unlawful possession of human parts beyond reasonable doubt.
The court held that the trial court properly assessed all the evidence presented before arriving at its verdict, adding that there was no basis to interfere with the conviction or the sentence.
The justices further declared that Bello’s appeal lacked merit and consequently upheld both his conviction and the death sentence earlier handed down against him.
The judgment effectively concludes the legal battle over the killing of Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a case that generated widespread outrage across Kwara State and renewed public demands for justice for the deceased.
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