The hashtag #JusticeForChristianah has gained momentum on social media following the tragic death of Idowu Christianah, a young student who was abducted and murdered by Adeleye Ayomide, a 200-level student from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU).
On August 19, 2024, Christianah was reported missing after her kidnappers contacted her parents via her WhatsApp account, sending distressing photos of her in captivity through the ‘view once’ feature and demanding a ₦1.5 million ransom.
Christianah’s parents managed to gather ₦350,000, which they transferred to a betting account as instructed. After the payment, the kidnappers requested the sender’s bank statement, which was provided on August 23. However, communication with the kidnappers abruptly stopped.
Investigations revealed that some of the ransom money had been deposited into Christianah’s GTBank account and subsequently transferred to a Wema Bank account linked to the main suspect, Ayomide Adeleye. Authorities traced the BVN connected to the betting account back to Ayomide, who had already withdrawn ₦100,000 before the account was frozen.
On August 29, investigators tracked Ayomide’s phone to his family’s home in Ikorodu, where military personnel from the 174 Battalion apprehended him. A search of his device uncovered crucial evidence, including Christianah’s phone, bank transactions linking Ayomide to the crime, and emails exchanged with her family.
Ayomide confessed on September 3, 2024, admitting to killing Christianah and burying her at his family’s residence. Further reports suggest Ayomide may have been involved in the suspicious deaths of his ex-girlfriend in 2018 and his biological sister in 2020, raising serious concerns about his past actions.
