14-year-old housemaid arrested over alleged killing of FUTMINNA lecturer

Niger State Police Command said on Tuesday that it has arrested Joy Afekafe, the prime suspect in the death of Funmilola Adefolalu, a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA).

Spokesman of the Command Wasiu Abiodun said two other suspects connected to the incident were at large, adding that effort was ongoing to apprehend them.

He said that on October 29, 2023 at about 10:00 a.m., some friends and church members of Adefolalu, visited her residence in Gbaiko area of Minna following their inability to get her on telephone.

“Unfortunately, on getting to the house, the visitors met her lying in a pool of blood with marks of injury on her body.

Police operatives attached to Bosso Division visited the scene and two knives with blood stains suspected to have been used to stab her by unknown person(s) were recovered from the scene.

“She was taken to the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Specialist (IBB) Hospital, Minna where she was confirmed dead,” Abiodun said.

He noted that during investigation, the police arrested the deceased’s housemaid, Ms Afekafe of Gbeganu, Minna on September 30 at about 9:00p.m.

Abiodun said the suspect told the police that she served as the deceased’s housemaid for about three weeks, adding that she was laid off due to her misdeed in the house.

According to him, Afekafe said she narrated her ordeal to her classmates called Walex and Smart and they conspired and attacked the FUTMINNA lecturer at her residence on September 28.

The police spokesman said that Walex and Smart beat the deceased, hit her head with a stool and stabbed her with a knife brought by Walex while Smart took another knife from the deceased’s kitchen, and stabbed her severally.

He said that the suspects also stole the deceased’s phone, laptop and the battery of a car parked in the compound and fled the scene.

Abiodun said the suspect would be transferred to State Crime Investigation Department for further investigation.