Justice Ajayi of the Kwara State High Court today heard the defence of Abdulrahman Bello and four co-defendants, who are standing trial for the alleged conspiracy to murder one Hafsat Adefalu.
All five defendants testified in their own defence without calling any witnesses.
One after the other, the defendants opened their defence to the murder charge and were subsequently cross-examined by the prosecution team, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ayoola Idowu Akande.
Throughout his testimony, Abdulrahman Bello maintained, just as he did earlier at the Magistrate Court, that he alone was responsible for the killing of Hafsat Adefalu and that no one else was involved.
In their respective testimonies, the co-defendants corroborated his account, stating that the act was solely carried out by Abdulrahman Bello without their knowledge or involvement.
Bello gave a detailed narration of how he allegedly dismembered the body of Hafsat Adefalu and disposed of it at a nearby waste collection point in his neighborhood at Olunlade, Ilorin, Kwara State.
However, he claimed that he had returned from a pharmacy where he had gone to purchase an inhaler for Hafsat, only to find her lifeless in his room. When questioned, he could not explain how he determined that Hafsat was clinically dead, as he lacked the medical qualifications to make such a declaration.
Under cross-examination, he admitted that he neither sought help nor contacted any medical personnel to verify her condition. He also acknowledged that, despite knowing that the A’ Division Police Headquarters was nearby, he failed to report the incident to the authorities.
Bello’s claim of being tortured while making his statement in the custody of the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) was contradicted by the consistent testimonies of his co-defendants. They each affirmed that no torture or promises were made by either the police or DSS before they voluntarily gave their statements.
Following the close of the defence, counsel for the 2nd and 4th defendants applied for bail on their behalf. However, the court promptly denied the request, reiterating that accelerated hearing had already been granted in the matter.
The case was adjourned to July 2, 2025, for the adoption of written addresses by the parties.