A High Court in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced gospel singer Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for killing 24-year-old National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Salome Adaidu.
Justice Simon Aboki gave the judgment on Thursday after months of trial. He found Ajayi guilty of culpable homicide under Section 221 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty.
Justice Aboki, “The evidence before the court clearly shows that the accused intentionally caused the death of the deceased.
“The law is clear on this, and the punishment is death. Therefore, the accused is hereby sentenced to death by hanging.”
Ajayi was arrested in January after he was caught with the severed head of Adaidu, who was serving at Nicon Insurance in Abuja at the time.
In an interview with Channels TV, Ajayi showed no remorse.
“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,” he said.
Ajayi also claimed he killed her out of jealousy after reading her phone messages with other men.
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“She hides most of the things from me… I saw her chats with other guys. That was why I decided,” he said.
“I don’t have any regrets because life is reciprocal… We were actually compatible,” he added.
However, the victim’s elder sister, Esther Adaidu, denied that there was any romantic relationship between her sister and Ajayi.
Ajayi now faces the death penalty for one of the most shocking murder cases in recent years.