We’ll get justice through other means if govt fails us – Father of dismembered Kwara lady

Mallam Ibrahim Lawal, father of Hafsat, a final-year female student at the Kwara State College of Education, who a cleric and Islamic teacher allegedly murdered, tells TUNDE OYEKOLA that his 24-year-old daughter was murdered for ritual purposes

What is your relationship with the young lady who was murdered in Ilorin?

The young lady who was murdered is known as Hafsat Lawal, and she was my daughter. My name is Ibrahim Lawal, and I am a secondary school teacher in Kwara State.

What course was she studying at the State College of Education before she was murdered?

She had completed her course at the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, but she had a minor issue she was trying to resolve at the school. She studied Chemistry and Integrated Science.

How did you react to this sad development when you heard about it?

Let me say it was a very sad event, a deeply sad experience. This girl was born about 24 years ago. She had graduated from the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, but had a slight delay in obtaining her final results, so she couldn’t meet the deadline.

Some of her colleagues, who were together at the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, are now doing their degree programme. However, because we didn’t want her to be idle, we advised her to stay engaged, so she began teaching in a private school.

What can you recall about her last moments?

On that fateful day, she returned from her workplace around 12:30pm because one of her friends was having a child naming ceremony at the front, and she came to celebrate with them. It was there that she received a call and told others that she needed to be somewhere.

She couldn’t even settle down. The food they served her was given to someone else. She couldn’t stay, so she left. Before I realised she was missing, about 30 minutes had passed since she left. I called her number, but she didn’t pick up. I suspected that her killer had her phone, but he didn’t pick up either. My daughter couldn’t pick up the call. That was the last I heard from her.

What happened thereafter?

Later, when we called her number around 6:30pm, both phones were switched off, and we couldn’t reach her. We thought she might have gone to visit some of my relatives, maybe she hadn’t informed us. But she never left without telling us. We waited until the next morning, hoping that one of my sisters whom she might have gone to visit would call and inform me that Hafsat was with them.

The following day, we couldn’t get in touch with her. Then, in the evening, after 24 hours, we realised that if we had gone to the police station and reported her as missing, they might have said, “Has 24 hours passed?” So, we couldn’t go there until after 24 hours.

After 24 hours, we went to report at the C Division of the Nigeria Police, Oja-Oba, Ilorin. I went there with my brother to file a complaint, but the lady at the counter advised us that the best thing we could do was track her phone number. We followed her advice and tracked her number. With the help of some relatives and friends, by the grace of God, we managed to track her number the following day, even though we experienced network failures.

Some numbers were extracted, including my phone number, her boyfriend’s, and another friend’s. The police called me, and I recognised her boyfriend’s number, the one she said she wanted to marry.

The police also called two numbers. They went to Soludero in the Sawmill area and arrested a boy who happened to be the boyfriend of one of her friends because they communicated often. If that boy couldn’t reach his girlfriend, he would call my daughter, as they were close.

When they realised the boy was innocent, they released him and turned to the other number that had called her that day. The man they tracked was an Alfa who called my daughter about five times that day. The police officer in charge of the investigation was convinced that my daughter was with this man.

When the man was arrested, he appeared calm and composed. I had doubts that such a quiet young man could have been involved with my daughter. I even felt sorry for him, unaware that he was actually with her. He initially denied that my daughter was with him, but the police told us to leave that day, assuring us that he would confess before midnight.

What was the reaction of your wife, Hafsat’s mother, when you got home?

She became restless, and of course, none of the family members could sleep that night. Early the next morning, we were waiting for a call from the police to tell us that they had found our daughter. We didn’t want to disturb the police, nor did we want to jeopardise the investigation.

We waited until around 10am when I received a call from the C Division, Oja-Oba, Ilorin, asking me to come immediately. When I heard the news that I should show up immediately, I was hopeful and thought they had found my daughter.

I informed her mother that, Insha Allah, I would bring our daughter home alive. So, I went there with my brother and other relatives. When we arrived, they informed me that my daughter had been killed by a young man named Abdulrahman Bello, who lives in the Olunlade area but is originally from the Idisin area in Isalekoto, Ilorin.

Was the suspect interrogated about the whereabouts of your daughter?

Yes, they asked the suspect where my daughter’s body was. He led them to the location. I didn’t follow them. Initially, he didn’t want to confess, but when they were on their way, I was informed that when they reached the Offa Garage roundabout, he asked the Maruwa (tricycle) driver to stop. When the driver halted, he asked to speak to the officer in charge privately. The officer insisted that he speak in front of everyone but eventually agreed. He confessed that he had killed my daughter and had her body in his possession.

The police, however, said they would continue investigating the matter. According to them, the suspect is likely not the only person involved, as he had accomplices.

The police also asked him to show them where he had buried the remains. He didn’t confess that evening, but I believe by now they might have obtained more information from him. When we returned home, some elders came to inform her mother, and she was devastated, breaking into tears.

From the rumours circulating, we gathered that the alleged killer is an Alfa. How true is this?

Yes, he confessed to being a Mallam. He explained that he teaches at two Arabic schools: one in the afternoon and the other at night. He is an Alfa. During the investigation, we discovered that he is the son of a late Imam.

How did you know it was your daughter who was killed?

When we got to the killer’s house, we saw my daughter’s slippers and other belongings. It was the ‘laali’ (henna) on her severed hand that confirmed it was my daughter. The henna showed that it was my daughter who had been killed.

Do you think she was killed for ritual purposes?

The circumstances suggest so. When the police arrived at the killer’s house, they recovered fetish objects, including calabashes, animal horns, black soap, and a cutlass. The boy confessed to the crime, and he’s no longer a suspect, unless the police decide otherwise. He admitted to murdering my daughter and dismembering her body. Can you imagine? Can you believe that this happened to someone’s daughter, especially in Ilorin?

You said your daughter had boyfriends. Was the Alfa who allegedly murdered her one of them?

No, I didn’t know this Alfa. He had never come to our house. I knew one boy who had been coming regularly to visit my daughter, and she introduced him to me as Lukman. He is the one she was planning to marry.

The young man even joined us in our search for her. I even told my daughter to have the boy bring his parents to formally ask for her hand in marriage.

The alleged killer of your daughter is an Alfa, and you are also a Muslim. Has what happened to your daughter shaken your faith?

Almighty Allah is the creator of all things. He gives life and takes it. Although what happened to my family has deeply saddened us, it has also strengthened our faith. Such calamities have happened to the Prophets of God; even Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) faced similar trials. We must learn from his experiences.

What form of justice do you want from the government now?

As for justice, this country is very dangerous. The police need to be careful. For now, I won’t disclose what the family plans but let me say this: we want the Nigeria Police, from Kwara State to the Federal Capital Territory, to give us justice. We want justice for Hafsat Lawal. She was a young, promising daughter whom we nurtured from childhood.

Had it not been for the country’s economic situation, she would have graduated and joined the National Youth Service Corps. For someone to murder her like that, we can’t give up. We expect the Nigeria Police to take appropriate action.

They must provide a competent prosecutor who will go to court and prosecute this case thoroughly. If this is not done, we will seek other ways to find justice for our daughter. We also implore our father, Mai Martaba, the Emir of Ilorin, to help us investigate this matter thoroughly. We want him to help rid Ilorin and Kwara State of ritual killers. Ilorin is an Islamic city; it was founded and ruled by Islam, and justice must be allowed to take its course.