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A 30-year-old private school teacher has been arrested for allegedly killing a 16-year-old student who was preparing for her West African Senior School Certificate Examination, police in Ogun State said Friday.
Nathaniel Baiyegun, who taught Physics and Further Mathematics, is accused of luring the teenager, identified only as Florence, to an uncompleted building where he allegedly drugged her and later dumped her body in a river, according to a police source.
“The suspect allegedly reconnected with the teenager about a year after she left his former school and attempted to force her into a relationship with his friend, identified simply as Sola,” the police source said.
“He kidnapped and kept her in an uncompleted building before administering an overdose of D5 sleeping tablets on her.”
The suspect was arrested by the Ogun State Police Command‘s Anti-Kidnapping Unit.
According to the suspect, he reconnected with Florence on April 7 while shooting content for his Instagram page. She had failed Mathematics and English in her previous exams and wanted to rewrite her WASSCE.
Baiyegun said a friend named Sola repeatedly expressed interest in dating the teenager. When she rejected Sola’s advances, the suspect claimed they hatched a plan to stage a fake kidnapping to extort money from her family.
“I took her to an uncompleted building at the back of our school and used her phone to negotiate a ransom of N3 million from her father,” he said.
After she complained of being scared and unable to sleep in the building, he gave her “four dosages of D5 sleeping tablets.”
When he returned two days later, she was gasping for breath. Instead of seeking medical help, he placed her on a motorcycle and took her to a river.
“I was not around the day after I gave her the drug. I attended our pastor’s father’s burial and came back on the night of April 11. When I returned from the burial, I went to see her and discovered that she was gasping for breath,” Baiyegun said.
“I quickly stopped a bike and took her to a river in the MTN area and dumped her body there. I lied to the bike rider that she was sick and that I wanted to take her to my aunt for treatment, but I dumped her body in the river.”
The father eventually paid N500,000, but the suspect never told him his daughter was already dead.
“I lied to him that his daughter would be released as soon as the ransom was paid. I spent almost all the money on online sports betting, and I regret it now,” he added.
Ogun State Police Command spokesperson Oluseyi Babaseyi urged residents to be mindful of the company they keep.
“The successful operation carried out by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, leading to the arrest of the notorious suspect and recovery of incriminating exhibits, underscores the bravery, professionalism and unwavering dedication of the operatives,” Babaseyi said.
The command assured residents that sustained efforts were being intensified to dismantle all criminal syndicates operating in the state.
“The Ogun State Police Command assures residents that sustained efforts are being intensified to dismantle all criminal syndicates operating within the state and its environs, while urging members of the public to continue supporting security agencies with timely and credible information,” he added.
