- The hashtag #JusticeForChristianah gained popularity on social media following the tragic death of Idowu Christianah, a student abducted and killed by Adeleye Ayomide from Olabisi Onabanjo University.
- Idowu Christianah disappeared on August 19, 2024, after her abductors used her WhatsApp account to contact her parents, send photos of her in captivity, and demand ₦1.5 million in ransom.
- Christianah’s parents raised ₦350,000, which they transferred to a betting account as instructed by the kidnappers.
- The abductors demanded Christianah’s bank statement after receiving the ransom, but communication with the kidnappers ceased shortly after.
The hashtag #JusticeForChristianah has become prominent on social media in the wake of the tragic death of Idowu Christianah, a young female student who was kidnapped and murdered by Adeleye Ayomide, an undergraduate at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU).
On August 19, 2024, Idowu Christianah was reported missing after her abductors utilized her WhatsApp account to reach out to her parents, sending images of her in captivity via the ‘view once’ feature and demanding a ransom of ₦1.5 million.
Christianah’s parents were able to gather ₦350,000, which they transferred to a betting account as directed by the kidnappers.
Following the receipt of the ransom, the abductors requested a copy of the sender’s bank statement. Christianah’s family complied on August 23, but communication from the kidnappers abruptly ceased thereafter.
During this period, a portion of the ransom was deposited into Christianah’s GTBank account and subsequently withdrawn into a Wema Bank account linked to the primary suspect, Adeleye Ayomide, a second-year student at OOU.
On August 26, investigators initiated a probe into the associated bank accounts. By August 29, they discovered that the BVN tied to the betting account belonged to Ayomide, who had already withdrawn ₦100,000 before the betting company intervened and froze the account. Additional evidence indicated Ayomide’s personal connection to Christianah through their interactions on Instagram.
Authorities tracked Ayomide’s mobile device to his family residence in Ikorodu, leading to the deployment of military personnel from the 174 Battalion for his apprehension.
A search of his mobile phone revealed damning evidence, including Christianah’s phone, bank records linking Ayomide to the crime, and email exchanges between him and the victim’s family.
On September 3, 2024, Ayomide confessed to murdering Christianah and burying her at his family home.
Subsequent reports indicate that Ayomide may have been implicated in the deaths of his ex-girlfriend in 2018 and his biological sister in 2020 under allegedly similar circumstances.
