A Kwara State High Court in Ilorin has ordered the release of the remains of Hafsoh Lawal, a murdered final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education, to her family for burial according to Islamic rites.

Justice Hannah Ajayi, presiding over the ongoing trial of five suspects charged with her murder, granted the order following the family's request to recover the disarticulated body for proper religious burial.

At the resumed hearing on Monday, Mr. Senior Ibrahim Sulyman, the Kwara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, leading the prosecution, petitioned the court to allow the family to conduct the burial.

Sulyman said, "I want to apply and pray the court to humbly order the release of the remains of Hafsoh Lawal who was murdered in cold blood by the defendants for proper burial as a Muslim so that her soul will have rest."

The defence counsel, Mr Chukwudi Maduka, who represents the first defendant, Abdulrahman Bello, raised no objections to the request, saying, "I sympathise with the family of the deceased who lost their beloved daughter. I don't have any objection to the request made by the Honourable Attorney General despite the ongoing prosecution of the case."

Justice Ajayi therefore ordered that the Kwara State Police Command release the dismembered body of Hafsoh to her parents so that she would be buried according to the Islamic rites.

Bello and four others are standing trial on the charges of conspiracy and murder of Hafsoh.

The other four defendants are Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhydeen, Jamiu Uthman and AbdulRahman Jamiu.

They were alleged to have committed criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide and illegal possession of human parts while the first defendant, AbdulRahman Bello, was solely accused of raping the deceased.

At the resumed hearing on Monday, three more witnesses including two police officers and an anatomic pathologist from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Olaleke Folaranmi, testified before the court.

Key police witnesses, including officers from the Police 'C' Division, Oja Oba, Ilorin and the State Criminal Investigation Department, testified that the prime suspect had orally confessed to the crime.

According to the officers, "The suspect, Abdulrahman Bello, led investigators to his apartment and later to a dumpsite at the Olunlade area of Ilorin, the state capital, to recover parts of the dismembered body of the deceased, Hafsoh Lawal."

The policemen also said the investigation led to the main dump site located near the Okolowo-Eyenkorin Expressway where parts of the body were allegedly recovered.

"Policemen were led to the dump site by the Abdulrahman Bello to recover the human parts but they were already evacuated by the refuse disposal people to the Okolowo-Eyenkorin Expressway. The next day, we met with a scavenger who helped the police team to recover the parts. Abdulrahman later identified the human parts as those of the deceased," an ASP of the state CID testified.

The prosecution team also played a video in court showing the discovery of Hafsoh's dismembered body parts inside the apartment of the prime suspect, Abdulrahman Bello.

The video, along with a certificate of compliance, was later admitted as evidence, despite objections from defence counsel who argued that it did not comply with the state's criminal justice law.

Another officer, Sergeant Moses, told the court that the victim's father had reported her missing on February 11, adding that Abdulrahman Bello was arrested after phone records showed that he was the last person to contact her.

A pathologist from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr Olaleke Folaranmi, confirmed through a postmortem that the remains were human parts. His report was admitted as Exhibit P17.

The presiding judge, Justice Hannah Ajayi, however, declined bail to the defendants describing granting bail applications for the suspects as a distraction.

"This case is a murder case and it is a serious crime, granting bail to the defendants will be a distraction to the hearing of the case. But I promise to give accelerated hearing to the case," Justice Ajayi said.

She therefore adjourned further proceedings in the case till May 21, 2025, for the continuation of the hearing.