The hashtag #JusticeForChristianah has gained significant traction on social media following the tragic death of Idowu Christianah, a young female student who was abducted and killed by Adeleye Ayomide, an undergraduate from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU).
On August 19, 2024, Idowu Christianah was reported missing after her abductors used her WhatsApp account to contact her parents. They sent photos of her in captivity through the ‘view once’ feature and demanded ₦1.5 million in ransom.
Christianah’s parents managed to raise ₦350,000, which they transferred to a betting account as instructed by the kidnappers.
After receiving the ransom, the abductors requested a copy of the sender’s bank statement. Christianah’s family provided it on August 23, but communication from the kidnappers ceased shortly after.
During this period, some of the ransom funds were deposited into Christianah’s GTBank account and subsequently withdrawn into a Wema Bank account associated with the primary suspect, Adeleye Ayomide, a 200-level student at OOU.
On August 26, investigators began tracking the linked bank accounts. By August 29, they discovered that the BVN connected to the betting account belonged to Ayomide, who had already withdrawn ₦100,000 before the betting company froze the account. Evidence also revealed Ayomide’s personal connection to Christianah through their Instagram interactions.
Authorities traced Ayomide’s mobile device to his family’s home in Ikorodu, prompting the deployment of military personnel from the 174 Battalion for his arrest.
A search of his phone uncovered incriminating evidence, including Christianah’s phone, bank records linking Ayomide to the crime, and email correspondence between him and the victim’s family.
On September 3, 2024, Ayomide confessed to killing Christianah and burying her at his family home.
Further reports suggest that Ayomide may have been involved in the deaths of his ex-girlfriend in 2018 and his biological sister in 2020 under similar alleged circumstances.