Lover, pastor sentenced to death by hanging for killing LASU undergraduate

A 42-year-old prophet named Segun Philip and a 23-year-old man named Owolabi Adeeko were given hanging sentences on Monday by the Osun State High Court in Ikire for the 2019 ritual murder of Favour Daley-Oladele, a final-year student at the Lagos State University.

Bola, Owolabi’s 46-year-old mother, was also given a two-year prison term for eating human flesh by Justice Christiana Obadina.

Before the man invited her to Ikoyi, Osun State, in December 2019, Adeeko and Daley-Oladele were dating after meeting at LASU.

Daley-Oladele was enticed to Philip’s church in Ikoyi during the visit, when she was drugged and murdered with a pestle.

The two men removed some of her organs and then buried the deceased’s body in a small grave on the grounds of the church.

According to rumors, a concoction made from the deceased’s organs was made for Owolabi’s mother to help turn around her failing business.

The three defendants were initially charged with conspiracy and murder before a magistrates’ court in Apomu in January 2020; however, they were later charged again in November 2021 before the High Court in Ikire.

The prosecution team testified in court during the trial that Owolabi confessed to the police during questioning that he used his girlfriend to prepare a meal for money ritual for his mother. The prosecution team was led by Mrs. Adekemi Bello, the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary of the Osun State Ministry of Justice, who appeared alongside Ajibola Alade.

During the course of the trial, the prosecution team called the investigative police officer who worked on the case, eight other witnesses, and presented a number of exhibits to the court.

The defendants testified in the witness box in defense of their various roles in the case without calling any witnesses.

Adeshina Olaniyan, the defendants’ attorney, addressed the court and begged for mercy.

In her ruling, Justice Obadina stated that Philip and Owolabi had been found guilty of conspiracy and murder after the prosecution had established its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

In addition to 14 years in prison for conspiracy, she condemned them to death by hanging for the crime of murder, whereas Owolabi’s mother, who had been found guilty of eating human flesh, received only a two-year term.