A 30-year-old teacher and church choir leader in Ogun State has been accused of orchestrating the abduction and murder of a 16-year-old former student who was preparing to retake her WAEC examinations. The suspect, identified as Nathaniel Baiyegun, a teacher at a private school in Ogijo, allegedly lured the teenager to a coaching session under false pretenses before she disappeared.
Details of the Incident
According to reports, the victim had completed secondary school the previous year but failed English Language and Mathematics. She enrolled in extra lessons to improve her results. On April 8, she left home after informing her family she was attending a coaching class, but never returned.
Her family later received a phone call from an unknown person demanding N3 million for her release. After negotiations, they raised N500,000 and transferred the money to secure her freedom. However, the teenager did not come back alive; her body was later discovered in a river in Ogijo.
Police Investigation and Arrest
Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command's Anti-Kidnapping Unit arrested Baiyegun weeks after the incident. Police sources alleged that the suspect had previously engaged in internet fraud and had requested unclad photographs from the deceased. Investigators also claimed he attempted to pressure the teenager into a relationship with a friend identified as Sola.
During interrogation, Baiyegun denied intentionally killing the girl. He admitted arranging the kidnap plot but insisted her death was accidental. He stated, "She was one of the students in my former school. She was not my direct student because she was in the humanities, while I teach only science students. I was not teaching her class."
The suspect claimed he reconnected with the teenager after she approached him while he was filming content for his Instagram page. He later invited her to join his coaching programme after she expressed her intention to rewrite her examinations.
Ransom and Confession
Baiyegun alleged that the fake kidnap idea was designed to extort money from the victim's wealthy relative. He kept the teenager in an uncompleted building near the school premises and gave her sleeping tablets after she complained about discomfort. He returned days later to find her struggling to breathe and dumped her body in a river.
He admitted collecting the N500,000 ransom even after the teenager had died, saying, "Yes, her father sent N500,000 to me, but I didn't tell him that his daughter was dead." He confessed to spending almost all the money on online sports betting and expressed regret.
Police spokesperson DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi stated that the command would continue efforts to dismantle criminal networks operating across the state.
