Thirty-two-year-old Timileyin Ajayi has been remanded in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Nasarawa State Police Command in Lafia, the State Capital for reportedly beheading his alleged girlfriend, Salome Eleojo Adaidu.
Salome was a 24-year-old member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), serving with NICON Insurance in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This is as family and friends continue to flood the social media space to mourn the late Salome who was murdered when she visited the suspect at his house in the Papalana axis at New Karshi in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, north-central Nigeria.
The apprehended Timileyin was brought to the Nasarawa State Police Command headquarters from Karshi Development Area of Karu Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday.
Paraded alongside the knife and machetes used to commit the crime, Timileyin was arrested on Sunday, 12th January 2025, while trying to dispose of the head of Salome after killing her and dismembering her body parts when she reportedly paid him a visit.
Frail from injuries sustained from the mob that identified and captured him before the Police intervention and his eventual arrest, Timileyin confessed to the crime.
Responding to questions in an exclusive interview with Channels Television Correspondent, when asked if he killed Salome, Timi said; “Yes”, adding that it wasn’t planned but because they don’t have each other all the time.
“I killed her because we don’t have each other all the time. It’s not something I planned. It happened on that day and it happened. Not that I have the plan in mind, she was cheating. She hides most of the things from me most times. I got to know from her phone. I saw her chats with other guys on the phone, that was why I decided,” he said.
When probed further, he said he has no regrets in committing the crime.
Do you have any regrets?
He said, no. “I don’t have any regrets because life is reciprocal that is what I thought, if you must do something to someone, you have to be reciprocal with that person. You have to understand what that person is going through so that you can actually put yourself in the position that the person is going through, that is why I don’t have any regrets because we were actually compatible.”
With the suspect in custody, the late Ms Adaidu’s family has urged the Federal Government to thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible for her death.
Salome’s elder sister, Esther Adaidu, who denied knowledge of any relationship between her deceased sister and the suspect, is pleading that justice be served.
She said; “This so-called Timi guy, we don’t know him. We have never seen him until we were called up to tell us that this guy murdered and dismembered our sister.
“I demand and need justice to be served to this guy sitting over there because he is the one that murdered my sister and he confirmed it to me.”
Similarly, Salome’s uncle, Samson Adaji Adaidu stated the position of the family thus; “The position of the family is we discovered this through the Nigerian Police and we are expecting justice from the police”.
He narrated the sad experience, saying; “He (Timi) has succeeded in destroying our daughter, not ordinary killing, he butchered her into pieces. He cut that body into more than 50 pieces and when you look at the whole thing, he is preparing that body for consumption because he cut them and left them in about six polythene bags”.
On her part, a friend of the deceased, Abby Simon, told BBC Pidgin that it was a sad experience for Ms Adaidu’s mum who lost her husband only seven months ago.
She said the mother had fainted from the shock of losing her daughter, insisting that the deceased was not in any relationship with the suspect.
“Nobody deserves to die this way. Even if she was his girlfriend, she didn’t deserve to die this way,” she said.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Nasarawa State Command, SP Ramhan Nansel, who assured that justice will be served, was quoted as saying; “The suspect was found with a fresh human head, and when we got to the scene, we rescued him from being mobbed”.
He said, “Investigation is ongoing, and upon conclusion of the investigation he 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.
“He will be charged to court for prosecution. We are calling on members of the public who may have any complaints against the suspect to come forward with their complaints and it will be looked into and investigated.”
With insinuations about Timileyin’s profession of being a gospel singer, he mentioned to Channels Television that he is a cryptocurrency trader.
He has been remanded in custody at the Nasarawa State Police Command’s Criminal Investigation Department pending further investigation.
Meanwhile, one of the videos that went viral on social media showed people gathered around Timileyin after he was caught with Adaidu’s head on Sunday, 12th January near a church at Orozo area in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. – With Channels TV report
