The Lagos Command of the Nigeria Police has debunked reports claiming that a murder suspect Ayomide Adeleye has been released and is not in any prison.

Recall that Adeleye, a 200-level Philosophy student at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ogun State, was arrested in early September 2024 for the gruesome murder of Christianah Idowu.

Idowu, a 300-level student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and her suspected killer were friends and neighbours.

Adeleye allegedly kidnapped Idowu and demanded N3 million ransom for her release but confessed to killing and burying her in a shallow grave in his compound after the deceased's mother could only raise N350,000.

On November 5, 2024, the suspect was arraigned before Magistrate Seyi Omodara at the Ogba Magistrate Court.

The Magistrate granted a remand warrant for his detention at the Ikoyi prison pending the availability of the Director of Public Relation (DPP)'s advice.

Police counter FIJ's claim that Adeleye is not in prison

However, in a recent report titled “Ayomide Adeleye Not in Prison, and Was Never Remanded for Murder,” the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) claimed that sources at the Ikoyi and Kirikiri Medium prisons confirmed that the suspect had been freed.

Reacting to the publication, the Lagos State Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, insisted that Adeleye was charged with murder and remanded for the same offence.

Hundeyin explained that a person with a similar name but charged with a different offence was released in April 2024, and not the murder suspect who was arrested in September.

“We can confirm that Ayomide Adeleye was charged with murder and was remanded for the same offence.

“It is also a fact that another person bearing the same name was remanded for a different offence and released in April 2024, long before the Ayomide we are talking about committed his offence.

“An outfit that prides itself on investigation should live up to its name. Relying on ‘sources’ rather than the spokesperson of the Correctional Service would land you in this kind of misinformation.” Hundeyin wrote on X.