A 300-level student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in Ogun State, Christiana Idowu, who was abducted along the Ikorodu-Yaba Road in August, has tragically been found murdered.
The incident has sparked a wave of outrage and grief within the Itaoluwo community of Ikorodu where Christiana resided before her gruesome murder.
The victim was on her way to the University of Lagos in Yaba, where she was undergoing her industrial training, when she was abducted by unknown assailants. Her disappearance led to a frantic search by her family and law enforcement agencies.
According to a source familiar with the investigation, “On the 19th of August 2024, Christiana Idowu was declared missing after her parents were contacted by her abductors using her own WhatsApp contact. The first contact with the parents was made around 8:49 p.m., during which they sent photos of the victim in captivity using the WhatsApp ‘view once’ feature.”
The kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N1,500,000. However, Christiana’s distraught parents were only able to raise N350,000, which was immediately transferred as instructed. The kidnappers requested that the payment be made through a bank deposit channel to a betting account, further complicating the trail.
“After receiving the money, on the 22nd of August, the abductor requested that the bank statement of the sender be forwarded to his email,” the source added. Despite the family complying with this demand on the 23rd of August, all communication from the abductors abruptly ceased.
During this period, suspicious transactions were noted involving Christiana’s account. “On the 22nd of August, some amount was sent to the GTB account of Christiana and was subsequently withdrawn into a Wema Bank account belonging to the main suspect,” the source revealed.
By the 26th of August, intelligence operatives had initiated an investigation into the suspect’s financial activities. The investigation intensified when it was discovered that the BVN linked to the betting account belonged to the same individual associated with both the Wema Bank account and suspicious social media activity.
“Further investigation revealed that he was able to withdraw the sum of N100,000 from the betting account before agents got the betting company to lock the account,” the source stated. The suspect was also observed to have a personal connection with Christiana, evident from their interactions on social media platforms like Instagram.
Disturbingly, the same account number used to transfer funds from Christiana’s account had previously been posted on Twitter in a plea for “giveaway free money,” raising further suspicions about the suspect’s activities.
With these leads, law enforcement tracked the suspect’s phone activities, which eventually led them to his parents’ residence in Ikorodu. “Operatives got confirmation of his presence in the building through active tracking of his mobile device,” the source said. Subsequently, personnel from the Nigerian Army’s 174 Battalion conducted the arrest.
During the arrest, investigators found incriminating evidence, including the victim’s blue ITEL A56 phone, confirming the suspect’s ownership of the locked betting account registered with his phone number. Email correspondence on the suspect’s phone further linked him to the email address that had been in contact with Christiana’s family.
Following his arrest, the suspect reportedly confessed to the heinous crime. “On August 3, the suspect reportedly confessed to the father and the soldiers that he killed the girl and buried her in their house,” the source disclosed.
The investigation has also uncovered chilling new allegations. “There is also a new story awaiting further confirmation that in 2018, the suspect’s ex-girlfriend was killed in the same manner. In 2020, the suspect’s biological sister met the same fate, and now the same thing has happened to Christiana in 2024,” the source revealed.
Authorities have since intensified their investigation to uncover the full extent of the suspect’s alleged crimes. Christiana’s tragic death has left her family and community in mourning, with many calling for justice to be served swiftly and thoroughly.
