A cloud of sorrow hung over Sango in Ilorin on Monday as the body of Hafsoh Lawal, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education, was finally buried, weeks after her gruesome murder shocked the state.
Hafsoh, who was allegedly killed and dismembered by her Facebook acquaintance, AbdulRahman Bello, was laid to rest according to Islamic rites following a court order from a Kwara State High Court in Ilorin approving her family’s request for burial.
Her father, Ibrahim Lawal Adefalu, expressed gratitude to the court for granting the family’s wish. “We are thankful to the court for allowing us to finally lay our daughter to rest. It brings us a little peace after all the pain we have endured,” he said.
The remains had been held by authorities as evidence in the ongoing murder trial, which has drawn widespread outrage across Kwara and beyond.
At Monday’s court hearing, Kwara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Ibrahim Sulyman, who is prosecuting the case, formally applied for the release of the body. Defence counsel, Mr. Chukwudi Maduka, raised no objection and expressed sympathy with the grieving family.
“We understand the emotional trauma the family is going through. We raise no objection to their request for burial,” he told the court.
The judge subsequently granted the application, allowing Hafsoh’s body to be released for burial.
AbdulRahman Bello and four others—Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhydeen, Jamiu Uthman, and AbdulRahman Jamiu—are currently standing trial for conspiracy and murder.
As proceedings continue, Hafsoh’s family and the wider community continue to seek justice while mourning a promising life cut short.
