Adeleye Ayomide, a 200-level student at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) has reportedly murdered a 300-level student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Christiana Idowu in Lagos State.
Christiana was kidnapped on August 19, 2024, after leaving her home in the Itaoluwo area of Ikorodu for the University of Lagos in the Yaba where she was observing her industrial training.
It was gathered that the kidnappers later sent photos of her captivity via the ‘view once’ feature and demanded ₦1.5 million in ransom. Christianah’s parents raised ₦350,000, which they transferred to a betting account as directed by the abductors.
After receiving the money, the kidnappers requested a copy of the sender’s bank statement. Christianah’s family complied on August 23, but the abductors stopped communicating afterwards.
In the meantime, some ransom funds were transferred into Christianah’s GTB account and later withdrawn into a Wema Bank account linked to the main suspect, Adeleye Ayomide.
On August 26, investigators began tracking the linked bank accounts. By August 29, they confirmed that the BVN tied to the betting account belonged to Adeleye Ayomide. He had already withdrawn N100,000 before the betting company locked the account. Investigators also discovered Ayomide had a personal connection to Christianah, with evidence from their Instagram interactions.
Authorities further tracked Ayomide’s mobile device to his parent’s house in Ikorodu, after which the military personnel from the 174 Battalion were deployed to make the arrest.
Upon searching his phone, police found incriminating evidence, including Christianah’s phone and bank records linking Ayomide to the crime. Email conversations between Ayomide and the family were also discovered.
On September 3, 2024, Ayomide confessed to killing Christianah and burying her in his family home.
There are additional reports suggesting Ayomide might have been involved in the deaths of his ex-girlfriend in 2018 and his biological sister in 2020 under similar circumstances.
Outraged by the incident, many Nigerians on Twitter, demanded justice for the victim, asking relevant stakeholders to ensure justice is served. They trended the hashtag — #JusticeForChristianah.
A Twitter influencer, Shola posting as @itsSh0la said; ‘People like this deserve everything bad happening to them. They don’t deserve to be around humans like us. I hope his victim gets justice as soon as possible. #JusticeForChristianah”
@baddest_cash wrote; “If at the age 15, he rap*d and put a 14-year-old girl in coma, Ayomide at 17 k!lled his first victim and buried her in his parent house. Then we need to ask his parent alot of questions because there is no way they won’t know something about their son.”
@thehookprincess reacted; “Where is safe for Nigerian girls and women? You’re not safe even in your own home, in your own bed while you sleep. You’re not safe with a course mate and a church member.”
@DamilolaTolu1 said; “They should hold his parent too because it should have stopped when he committed the first crime.”
Celebrities like Ayra Starr have voiced their support, calling for justice and condemning violence against women.
“Stop killing us ! Stop raping us ! Women deserve better #JusticeForChristianah,” the music star tweeted.