The killer of Ifeoluwa Adekunle, the female student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State, who was stabbed and left to die in her off-campus apartment earlier this month, committed the act because he liked the deceased’s phone.

FIJ earlier reported that it was Adekunle’s friends who raised the alarm on the evening of February 2 when they checked on her following her prolonged absence online.

FIJ gathered that the killer, who is a student living in the same off-campus hostel where Adekunle lived, carried out the act to take ownership of the late student’s smartphone and has now been apprehended.

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A source at the school, who does not want to be named, told FIJ that he learned that the arrested student confessed to the crime and admitted that it was “because he liked her phone”.

Another source in Ondo told FIJ that the killer was the lady’s neighbour.

“He is said to have confessed. He allegedly killed the lady because of her phone. He liked the lady’s phone and killed her in order to steal it,” the source told FIJ.

Efforts to get an official confirmation from the state police proved abortive. When FIJ called Odunlami Ibukun, the Ondo police public relations officer, on Monday afternoon, she asked that a text be sent to her because she was in a meeting.

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In a message, FIJ asked her to confirm the arrest and alleged reason for the killer’s action, but no response was received.

When our reporter reached out to her again on Monday evening, she said, “Just hold. We are going to have a press release.”

At the time of publication, no press release had been received from the police.

Abimbola Abatta is a reporter with FIJ writing reports in partnership with Report for the World which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.