It was never in the character of Dr. Funmilola Adefolalu, as Associate Professor with Federal University of Technology Minna, to get late to church, especially on Sundays.
Many church members were therefore curious when she was absent from the workers’ meeting as well as the church service last Sunday.
Worried by the development, the pastors in the church decided to delegate some of their members to check on her at home. On getting to her house however, they could not gain access into it because the gates were locked.
With the delegation running into a brick wall, the church delegated another group of people to go to the house look for a way to enter because they believed she was inside.
Before proceeding to Adefolalu’s house, the second delegation alerted the police and told the latter about their plan to break into the house.
On entering Adefolalu’s sitting room, the delegation were confronted with the shocking sight of the Associate Professor in a pool of blood and with stabs on her stomach, chest and hands. Some knives and a broken stool found on the floor of the sitting room completed the horrible sight.
It would later emerged that the Associate Professor’s merciless killing was carried out by her14-year-old housemaid!
Confessing to Adefolalu’s killing while being paraded by the police, the teenager, Joy Afekafe, said that she and two other boys she identified as Walex and Smart went to the deceased lecturer’s house to teach her a lesson for laying her off work.
She said: “I just wanted to beat her up and deal with her for sending me away.
“But when we entered the house, Walex, after hitting her with a stool, said that if we just beat her and leave, she would report us to the police because she recognise me.
“So he stabbed her with the knife we had brought with us. “I tried to collect the knife from him, but as I was dragging the knife with Walex, Smart rushed into the kitchen to take another knife, and they continued to stab her on her stomach and chest.”
The ugly incident, according to Joy, took place in the evening of last Saturday.
Giving further details about how Adefolalu’s gruesome murder was executed, Joy added: “When I got to the house, I knocked and she came to open the gate and door for me. I entered but I did not close the gate very well so that Walex and Smart could come in after some time.
“Our intention was just to beat her up in revenge for her sending me away. I did not mean to kill her.”
The SS3 student of Day Secondary School, Gidan Kuka said she had been working with the deceased for three weeks and confirmed that she was sent away on Tuesday because of her bad behaviors which include stealing money and lying.
She said that the deceased was supposed to be her sponsor and a helper to her family who are very poor. The two boys who accompanied her, she said, were her classmates who told her that she had been unjustly treated by the deceased and she needed to deal with her.
Joy said the deceased was shouting “Jesus, Jesus” while she was being stabbed but never begged them.
It was gathered that the suspect had been on the run since Saturday when the crime was committed, causing the police to arrest her mother, who was later released on Monday evening on the condition that the police would be informed once the daughter returned home.
Apparently thinking that the dust raised by thr incident had settled, Joy sneaked into her mother’s house at about 1 am on Tuesday, following which the mother called the police to inform them about her daughter’s return.
The Public Relations Officer of the NigerState Police Command, DSP Abiodun Wasiu, described the case as culpable homicide, adding that the incident occurred between 4 pm and 5 pm last Saturday.
He said that efforts were on to arrest Walex and Smart who are currently at large while the case would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation and diligent prosecution.
The church where the deceased Associate Professor was a pastor, Voice of Mercy Ministry, said the deceased had employed the suspect as a housemaid with a view to helping her and her family, adding that the suspect only spent three weeks with the deceased before she was returned to her mother due to some bad misbehaviours she kept exhibiting.
Speaking with our correspondent, the Head of Media and Communications of the Ministry, Pastor Bolaji Olanipekun, said: “Pastor Dr Adefolalu lost her husband years ago and her three children are out of the state pursuing their various professional careers.
“So she was staying alone and needed someone to help with the house chores. That was why she took the girl in.
“She informed the church about taking the girl in, we gave our approval and the girl moved in with her on October 1.
“However, after some days, Pastor Adefolalu complained that the girl was misbehaving, and I told her that if she c ould not bear her misbehaviour, she should send her away.
“She tried to tolerate it until Joy started stealing from her. That was when she sent her packing back to her mother.
“Since Joy was sent out of the deceased’s house, she did not come to church and we have not seen her till now.”
Olanipekun described the deceased as an epitome of kindness as she was always willing to render help to whoever was in need.
He said, “Pastor Mrs Adefolalu was an epitome of mercy. Our ministry is called Voice of Mercy, but we always said that if anyone was looking for mercy in human form, she was the one.
“There was nobody she could not help. She even borrowed money just to render assistance to people who were in need.
“She sometimes gave all she had to people. She just loved to help people. She just did not deserve what they did to her.”
The ministry, in a statement, demanded that swift justice devoid of sentiments be issued, expressing optimism that the arrest of the prime suspect would lead to the arrest of others who were involved in the wicked act.
Commending the efforts of the law enforcement agents involved in the investigation, the church called on the security operatives and every law enforcement agency involved in the case to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of justice, urging them to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation, ensuring that all evidence is diligently examined and all leads are followed.
The statement said: “As a church, we stand for truth and justice and declare that everyone involved in the murder of our pastor faces the full wrath of the law.
“We are seeking justice for her untimely and unjust demise. We trust that the law will ensure that those responsible for this horrific crime are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
“The loss of Pastor (Dr) Fumilola Adefolalu has left an indelible void within our church. Her unwavering faith, compassion, and dedication to serving others will always be remembered.”
The Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna described the deceased as a woman brimming with vitality and zest as she served the university faithfully and was a dedicated staff.
It was learnt that the deceased who hails from Shaki, Oyo State, joined the services of the university as an Assistant Lecturer in the then Department of Biological Sciences on 11th November, 2005 and later, the Department of Biochemistry where she rose to the rank of an Associate Professor on 1st October, 2020.
It was also learnt that the deceased was awaiting the confirmation of her professorship before her gruesome murder.
