A 30-year-old private school teacher, Nathaniel Baiyegun, has been arrested for allegedly killing a 16-year-old West African Senior School Certificate Examination candidate identified as Florence, said to be his former student.
Saturday PUNCH learnt from a police source on Friday that the suspect allegedly lured the teenager to the scene of her death under the guise of attending an academic coaching class.
The source added that Baiyegun allegedly demanded a ransom of N500,000 from the girl’s father after killing her, which he later confessed to spending on online sports betting.
“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. He kidnapped and kept her in an uncompleted building before administering an overdose of D5 sleeping tablets on her.
“He also claimed that the killing was accidental, but preliminary police investigations revealed he was allegedly involved in internet fraud and had at one time requested nude photographs from the deceased, which she reportedly sent to him through her mobile phone,” the source added.
Baiyegun was, however, said to have dumped the victim’s body in a river in Ogijo after believing she had died.
In a confessional statement obtained by our correspondent on Friday, the suspect explained that he was very close to Florence but had no amorous relationship with her.
“I am a teacher at a private school in Ogijo, and she was one of the students in my former school. She was not one of my direct students because she was in the humanities, while I teach only science students. I was not teaching her class. I was teaching Physics and Further Mathematics.
“We became very close, but there was no amorous relationship between us. At times, she would go to my table in the staff room and drop gifts for me, even when I was not around. That was just it until I deleted her number from my phone and told her not to call me again.
“She lied to our then principal that she was coming to return my power bank to me after she was caught at a faraway location. It was true that I gave her my power bank, but she returned it to me at school. So, when she called me to tell me that I should help her lie to the principal that she had come to return my power bank when he saw her, I was very upset, and I severed my relationship with her,” he reportedly wrote in the statement.
Baiyegun added that he did not hear from her again after she left the former school and changed to a new one.
The suspect further revealed that he reconnected with her on April 7 this year while he was shooting content for his Instagram page in the community.
“The last time I saw her before April 7 this year was last year, after her WAEC. She was the one who saw me and called me. I asked her if she was writing UTME, but she told me that she did not do well in her O-Level results. She failed Mathematics and English and wanted to write WASSCE again,” he said.
The suspect further stated that they exchanged contacts again, while he also introduced his JAMB and WAEC coaching classes to her and advised her to attend the coaching camp.
While narrating the circumstances that led to her abduction, the suspect explained that one of his friends, identified as Sola, had repeatedly expressed interest in dating Florence.
He said on April 8, he called the victim to come to his new school while she was at her coaching centre, adding that Sola had been waiting for her behind the school premises.
The suspect added that at about 5:30 p.m. on the said date, Florence arrived, and he introduced her to Sola before leaving them behind the school while he attended a class.
According to him, when he returned around 6:30 p.m., he met only the girl behind the school, as Sola had already left.
He said when he asked the victim what transpired between her and Sola, she told him that Sola demanded sex from her, but she declined, claiming she was on her menstrual period.
The suspect further disclosed that the girl requested transport fare from him, but he told her he had no money on him.
He added that they subsequently planned a fake kidnapping together with the intention of extorting 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 N3m from her father. She complained to me that she could not sleep well the first day she slept in the uncompleted building. After she complained that she was scared and that she could not sleep, I gave her four dosages of D5 sleeping tablets and left her there.
“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. 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.”
He also stated that after everything, the father agreed to pay the ransom and sent him N500,000, but he did not inform him that 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.
While reacting to the incident on Friday, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Oluseyi Babaseyi, urged residents to be mindful of the company they keep.
He said, “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.
“The Ogun State Police Command commends Olatunji Disu for his continued support towards tactical policing, intelligence-led operations and the fight against kidnapping and other violent crimes.
“The Command equally appreciates the strategic leadership and operational direction of the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Ogunlowo, which have continued to yield remarkable security successes within Ogun 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.
(Punch)
