NIGERIAN social media has gone agog following the tragic death of Christianah Idowu, a student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), allegedly at the hands of her friend, Ayomide Adeleye, a student of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU).
The suspect is accused of killing Idowu and also demanded a N3 million ransom, which the family of the deceased was unable to raise.
The ICIR reports that Idowu had been missing for several days when her family received a ransom demand from the suspect, who posed as a kidnapper.
The news of her death was confirmed in a report by the Foundation of Investigative Journalism, (FIJ), following Adeleye’s confession, to the 174 Battalion of the Nigerian Army.
He was said to have confessed to burying her in a shallow grave in his compound in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
According to the report, Idowu who lives in the same community with Adeleye went missing on August 19 while on her way to her place of industrial training. On her way she stopped at Adeleye’s family shop which was in front of his house to take cover from the rain. Adeleye allegedly attempted to take advantage of her, but when she resisted, he killed her. He would later use her phone to send a ransom message to her mother, pretending she had been abducted and demanded money for her release
Meanwhile, Idowu’s death has left many Nigerians mourning, as they called for immediate prosecution, and ‘life sentence’ of the suspect.
Reactions
The news of her death has led to the trend #JusticeForChristianah on social media.
Some of them have asked that the suspect be brought to book, while noting that women in Nigeria deserve a country where they would be safe.
An X user, feyisayo, wrote, “this is a reminder that we still have a long way to go in protecting women in this country. We need justice, not just for her, but for all victims. #JusticeForChristianah.
Also, yemiOjuolape, said, “Every female child deserves to be alive just like any other gender and have a voice on their rights on whatever they want; if they want to or if they don’t …”
A popular social media influencer, Aproko Doctor, noted that “members of his family who also covered up the previous murders should face the law. #JusticeForChristianah,” Aproko was reacting to the yet-to-be verified information circulating on social media that Adeleye is a suspect in his sister and girlfriend’s death.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M