A 16-year-old girl, Miss Joy Afekafe, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Dr. Mrs. Funmilayo Sherifat Adefolalu, a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Niger State.
In 2023, Joy was arrested by the Niger State Police Command following an investigation that linked her to the brutal attack, carried out alongside two classmates identified as Walex and Smart, who are still at large.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, officers from the Bosso Division responded to a distress call and recovered two bloodstained knives believed to have been used in the stabbing. The victim’s body was taken to IBB Hospital, Minna, where she was confirmed dead.
Abiodun revealed that during interrogation, Joy confessed to the crime, stating she had worked as a housemaid for the deceased for about three weeks before being dismissed due to misconduct. Seeking revenge, she conspired with her classmates to carry out the deadly attack at the lecturer’s residence.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Mohammed Adishetu Mohammed of Minna High Court No. 4 ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“In totality, I am convinced that the prosecution has established that Dr. Mrs. Funmilayo Sherifat Adefolalu is deceased and that her death was caused by the convict and her accomplices, who used knives to stab her multiple times and struck her with a wooden stool with the intent to kill,” the judge stated.
He added that the evidence also supported the conviction for armed robbery.
Justice Mohammed noted that although the Penal Code mandates a death sentence for culpable homicide, Section 221 of the Penal Code (Laws of Niger State, 1989) provides an exception for offenders under 18 years of age. In such cases, a life sentence is substituted for the death penalty.
Consequently, Miss Joy Afekafe was sentenced to life imprisonment for culpable homicide and an additional ten years for armed robbery, to be served in a custodial centre.
