A High Court in Nasarawa has sentenced corps member Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for killing his girlfriend, Salome Adaidu, in Papaladna

Corps member death sentence was handed down on Thursday by a High Court sitting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, after the conviction of 31-year-old gospel singer, Oluwatimileyin Ajayi, for the murder of his girlfriend, Salome Adaidu.

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Justice Simon Aboki, who presided over the case, ruled that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Ajayi intentionally killed the 24-year-old, who was a serving corps member, at his residence in Papaladna village, Karshi Development Area of Karu Local Government Area.

Delivering judgment after months of trial, the judge rejected Ajayi’s defence that he lost consciousness following intimate moments with the victim and did not know how the murder occurred.

He also dismissed the convict’s claim that his confessional statement was made in an unconscious state, stating it lacked credibility.

Justice Aboki noted, “The law is clear on this, and the punishment is death. Therefore, the accused is hereby sentenced to death by hanging.” He cited Section 221 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria, which stipulates the mandatory death penalty for murder.

The case, which drew attention for its disturbing details, revolved around three central pieces of evidence: the defendant’s confessional statement marked Exhibit L, a machete identified as Exhibit N_1, and smaller knives categorised under Exhibit N\_2.

Prosecuting counsel, Raymond Umaru, had earlier urged the court to impose the maximum sentence, arguing that the confessional statement was consistent with other testimonies presented during the trial.

“Exhibit L is evidence before the court and is corroborated by other facts. We urge the court to look at those pieces of evidence together,” he said.

Umaru stressed that the court had a duty to uphold legal principles and impose the full weight of the law to serve justice.

However, defence counsel Joseph Tuku-Bisong challenged the credibility of the evidence. He claimed the exhibits lacked probative value and argued that the court should acquit the defendant.

“Though they have been admitted, there is something called probative value. Don’t attach probative value to those exhibits,” he said.

Despite the arguments, the court concluded that the weight of evidence pointed unmistakably to Ajayi’s guilt. With the sentence now passed, Ajayi faces the ultimate penalty under the Nigerian legal system.

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The ruling serves as a grim reminder of the consequences of violent crime and the gravity with which the Nigerian judiciary treats proven cases of murder.