Suspected killer of kidnapped FUNAAB student arrested – Army

The Nigerian Army has confirmed the arrest of one Adeleye Ayomide, as the suspect responsible for the death of a 300-level student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Idowu Christiana.

The deceased was abducted by suspected kidnappers along the Ikorodu-Yaba Road, Lagos State, on Monday, August 19, 2024.

A family source who spoke with PUNCH Metro on condition of anonymity earlier disclosed that the abductors initially demanded a ransom of N3 million before they could release the student.

However, after several pleas, the abductors accepted N350,000 which was sent to their account but they refused to free the kidnapped student.

When contacted on Thursday, the spokesperson, 81 Division Nigerian Army, Lt-Col. Olabisi Ayeni confirmed Ayomide’s arrest via a telephone interview with our correspondent.

Ayeni said the suspect was arrested by men of the 174 Battalion, saying, “Yes. I am aware about the issue. We arrested him and the 9 Brigade Nigerian Army will be handing him over to the Lagos State Police Command today, so you can liaise with them for further information.”

Also, on Thursday, the Student Union Government president of FUNAAB, Ibrahim Adeyemi, confirmed Christiana’s death to one of our correspondents in a telephone conversation, saying, “The union can confirm that she was reportedly killed by her abductor. We will be addressing the matter soon.”

Christiana’s death has continued to attract reactions from concerned Nigerians, especially users of the social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).

Checks on X by our correspondent revealed that some users had pointed accusing fingers at Ayomide for Christiana’s death.

The hashtag #JusticeForChristiana is one of the top trends on Nigeria’s X domain, with over 90,000 posts as of the time of filing this report.

An X user, Tommy, tweeting as #Tommyjr277, in early Thursday, stated, “Our friend, Christiana is dead, a Funaabite; was abducted by this Ayomide, a student of Philosophy in OOU, Ogun State. We want justice for our friend. The suspect is reportedly at 174 Battalion in Ikorodu. We demand justice. He must face the wrath of the law.”

One tweep, Man of Letters, with the username #Letter_to_Jack, tweeted on Wednesday night, affirming that the suspect was held at the 174 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Ikorodu, Lagos State.

He also noted that Ayomide confessed to the deceased’s father and the military operatives to have killed and buried the victim, according to “detailed reports from trusted sources.”

His tweets, among others, read, “Armed by this information, operatives began investigation into the suspect whom they observed to have a mutual relationship with Christiana Idowu, especially judging by Instagram posts as they both commented on each other’s pages. With all these information at hand, the operatives began to track down his cell phone activities and text messages.

“The cell phone tracking led them to his parent’s house, somewhere in Ikorodu. Operatives then got confirmation of his presence in the building through active tracking of his mobile device. Immediately, gallant personnel of the Nigerian Army 174bn swooped in on the suspect to conduct an arrest. After the arrest, damning evidence were seen with the suspect and this includes the victim blue ITEL A56 with IMEI:35230**.”

The Punch