In a chilling twist of juvenile violence, a 16-year-old girl, Miss Joy Afekafe, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal killing of a Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna lecturer, Dr. Mrs. Funmilayo Sherifat Adefolalu, when she was just 14 years old.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Mohammed Adishetu Mohammed of Minna High Court No. 4 on Wednesday, marks the tragic culmination of a crime that shocked the academic community and the entire nation. The court found Joy guilty of culpable homicide punishable under Section 221 of the Penal Code, as well as armed robbery, for her involvement in the gruesome murder.
“On the whole and for all the reasons stated in this judgment, I hold that the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Dr. Mrs. Funmilayo Sherifat Adefolalu is dead, and that her death was caused by the convict with her accomplices, who are still at large,” Justice Mohammed declared in his judgment.
According to the judge, evidence presented showed that the deceased was repeatedly stabbed with knives and ultimately bludgeoned with a wooden stool in a premeditated attack carried out by Joy and her two classmates, Walex and Smart. The motive was fueled by revenge after Joy was dismissed from her duties as the lecturer’s housemaid.
“From the evidence before me, I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved the offences of culpable homicide punishable with death and armed robbery against the convict,” Justice Mohammed affirmed.
Despite the gravity of the crime, the court acknowledged the age of the accused at the time of the offense. By law, individuals under 18 cannot be sentenced to death, even for capital offenses. Consequently, Miss Afekafe was sentenced to life imprisonment for homicide and an additional 10 years for armed robbery, to be served in a custodial centre.
The Niger State Police Command arrested Joy following a thorough investigation which uncovered damning evidence — including two blood-stained knives recovered at the crime scene. Police confirmed the involvement of her accomplices, Walex and Smart, who are still on the run.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, “Operatives from the Bosso Division who visited the crime scene recovered two bloodstained knives believed to have been used in the attack. The victim was rushed to IBB Hospital, Minna, where she was pronounced dead.”
During interrogation, Joy confessed to orchestrating the attack after being sacked from her role as a domestic maid by the victim. Feeling humiliated, she allegedly sought out her classmates, shared her grievances, and plotted a deadly revenge.
The murder of Dr. Adefolalu, a respected academic and mother, has not only left a void in the intellectual community of FUT Minna but also sparked conversations about juvenile crime, domestic employment, and the alarming ease with which young people now turn to violence.
As Joy begins her life sentence, many questions remain—especially concerning the whereabouts of her co-conspirators and how such a brutal crime could have been conceived and executed by children.
This case, now etched into Nigeria’s legal and societal consciousness, serves as a somber reminder of the depths of human rage—and the irreversible consequences of youthful vengeance.
PIONEER NEWS 