High Court remands Timileyin Ajayi, police disclose
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Timilehin Ajayi allegedly caught last Sunday with the freshly severed head of National Youth Service Corps member Salome Adaidu was on Friday remanded in prison custody by a Nasarawa High Court in Lafia.
The remand was disclosed in a short statement posted on the X page of Nasarawa Police Command on Friday.
“Timilehin Ajayi was charged to court today and remanded in prison custody pending his formal arraignment,” the statement said.
Ajayi was arrested by churchgoers on January 12 for allegedly killing and dismembering Salome for suspected ritual purposes.
The church’s Bible Study Teacher and General Secretary, Caleb Umaru, explained that a member noticed Ajayi acting suspiciously near a river.
The member alerted others when Ajayi threw a bag into the river, which was later retrieved and found to contain the severed head of Salome, who he later claimed was his girlfriend.
The suspect has admitted to committing the murder but said he has no regret for it because Salome allegedly cheated on him which triggered him to kill her.
However, members of Salome’s family claim that she was never in a relationship with Ajayi who she did not introduce to them, and that he allegedly kidnapped and murdered her, contrary to his claim that she visited him on the day of the incident.
Salome’s mother recounts last moments with her, says “I want justice for my child”
Salome mother Ojomachenwu on Thursday recounted her last moments with her before she was allegedly murdered on January 12 by Ajayi who was caught with her freshly severed head the same day.
Salome, 24, an NYSC member serving with NICON Insurance in Abuja, reportedly visited Ajayi at his residence in Papalana, New Karshi in Karu Council of Nasarawa where he confessed to police he killed her.
Ojomachenwu told BBC Pidgin: “I called her on Saturday and asked where she was. She told me she was washing clothes. I then asked if she was washing the clothes alone. She said yes and added that the firstborn child was in the living room cleaning it.
“She also told me that once she finished, she planned to go to the place where she does her NYSC training. Maybe it was from that training that this incident happened because the bag she took to the training was the same one the police brought, which I saw on Monday.
“Maybe on her way to the place, she entered a ‘one-chance’ (a kind of scam often involving public transport), or someone used medicine (voodoo) on her because she doesn’t have friends like that. I want justice for my child.”
Nasarawa Police Public Relations Officer Ramhan Nansel has assured that the law would take its course in the case.
“Investigation is ongoing and upon conclusion, [the suspect] will be arraigned in court for prosecution. I want to assure the family and members of the public that this suspect will not be spared if found wanting,” Nansel said.
Read also:
Timilehin Ajayi says Salome “was cheating, I don’t regret killing her”
