Joy Afekafe, a 16-year-old teenager, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Niger State High Court for her role in the brutal murder of Funmilayo Adefolalu, a senior lecturer at the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna.
Afekafe was sentenced after being found guilty of culpable homicide and armed robbery, offences she committed at the age of 14.
While Section 221 of the Penal Code prescribes the death penalty for homicide, the court was restrained by her age and instead handed down a mandatory life sentence for the murder, along with an additional 10-year jail term for armed robbery under Section 298.
During her trial, presided over by Justice Mohammed Mohammed, the prosecution explained that the incident took place on October 28, 2023, in the Gbaiko area of Minna.
The teen, who had been employed as a housemaid by the lecturer, was dismissed after just three weeks over allegations of theft.
In a statement to the police, she confessed to orchestrating the attack on Adefolalu by inviting two accomplice, identified only as DJ Wallex and DJ Smart—to assist her in the crime.
The trio reportedly stormed the lecturer’s residence, stabbed her multiple times, and struck her with a wooden stool, resulting in her death.
They also stole her personal belongings, including mobile phones, a laptop, and foreign currency, before fleeing the scene.
“The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the deceased died as a result of the act of the defendant and others now at large,” the judge stated.
Meanwhile, security agencies are still pursuing the other two suspects, who remain at large as of the time of this report.
