31st October, 2023
A 14-year-old girl, Joy Afekafe, on Tuesday, narrated how she and her two friends, Walex and Smart, stabbed Dr. Funmilola Adefolalu, a lecturer with the Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna to death in her apartment in Minna, Niger State.
The lecturer was found dead in a pool of her own blood and the knives used to stab her in her home in Minna on Saturday, October 28.
Afekafe was paraded as one of the suspects responsible for the murder of Dr Adefolalu, at the Bosso Police Station in Minna, Niger state on Tuesday.
While confessing to the crime, Afekafe said she had previously lived with the lecturers for about two weeks on the pretext that she would take over the sponsorship of her education.
But the SS 2 Student of Day Secondary School, Gidan Kuka, said the lecturer decided to send her away after two weeks because she could not stomach her behaviours.
She said she and the two other suspects who were also students in her school had gone to Dr. Adefolalu’s residence to confront and beat her up for sending her away.
Afekafe said they decided to stab the lecturer to death over fears that she would recognise and report them to the authorities after beating her
To actualise their plan, he said her accomplices, Smart and Walex first hit the deceased with a stool before they began to stab her repeatedly with knives and eventually left her in a pool of her own blood.
She stated: “It was Walex who said that she would recognize us if we left her alive, so they started stabbing her with the knife we brought, I then struggled with the knife with them which made Smart enter her kitchen and take a knife there and they continued stabbing her.
“They stabbed her in her stomach, her hands, her legs and she was just shouting Jesus, Jesus. After all that, they took her phone and laptop and her car battery before we left the house in the motorcycle we came in.”
Abiodun Wasiu, the spokesperson for Niger Police Command said efforts are ongoing to arrest Afekafe’s accomplices, Walex and Smart.
He also revealed that the investigation had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation and prosecution.
It was gathered that the deceased lecturer was also a pastor at Voice of Mercy Ministry. The Church in a statement had asked police to ensure speedy investigation of the murder of the lecturer in a statement by its Head of Media and Communications, Pastor Bolaji Olanipekun.
The statement read: “The Voice of Mercy Ministry is deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic and senseless murder of our beloved Pastor, Dr Mrs Fumilola Adefolalu. This heinous act has left a profound impact on our congregation, and we are united in our resolve to seek justice for our dear pastor.
“We call upon the security operatives and every law enforcement agency involved in this case to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of justice. We urge them to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation, ensuring that all evidence is diligently examined and all leads are followed.
“As a church, we stand on the path for truth and justice and declare that everyone involved in the murder of our Pastor faces the full wrath of the law. We are seeking justice for her untimely and unjust demise. We trust that the law will ensure that those responsible for this horrific crime are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”