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…Ogun teacher nabbed for abducting, killing former student confesses
By Christopher Oji
A secondary school teacher, Nathaniel Baiyegun,30, who was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and killing his former student in Ogun State, has revealed how he spent the ransom he collected from his victim’s family on sports betting.
The suspect, who is not just a teacher at a private school in the Ogijo, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, but is also the choir master of a Pentecostal church in the same community, has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for the murder of a 16-year-old West Africa Examination Council ( WAEC ) candidate ,who was his former student.
The deceased girl was lured to the scene of her death by her supposed teacher lied to her that there would be an academic coaching class. But she was killed and the teacher, who pretended to be a born-again Christian, collected a ransom of N500,000 from the deceased’s father, which he subsequently wasted on sports betting .
The suspect claimed that the killing was accidental, but preliminary investigations by the police revealed that he was into internet fraud and that he had at a time requested the deceased girl’s nude picture, which was sent to him through his mobile phone.
Nathaniel thought that he had successfully erased any evidence of the killing of the teenager after dumping her body in a river in Ogijo. But he was surprised when operatives of the anti-kidnapping section of the Ogun State Police Command swooped on him.
Police sources revealed that the 30-year-old suspect reunited with his former student after about a year and attempted to force her into a relationship with his friend, simply identified as Sola. He kidnapped her and abandoned her in an uncompleted building after administering an overdose of sleeping tablets on her.
The suspect told newsmen: “I am a teacher at a private school in Ogijo and she was one of the students in my former school. I am the choir master in my church too. 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 at 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 far away location. It was true that I gave her my power bank but she had returned it to me at the school.
“So when she called 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.
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“I didn’t hear anything from her since then. She had passed out from the school and I had also changed school. It was on April 17 this year when I was shooting content for my Instagram page that I saw her again with her friends.
“The last time I saw her before April 7 was last year after her West Africa Examination Council.(WAEC) exams. She was the one that even saw me and called me. I asked her if she was writing JAMB, but she told me that she didn’t do well in her O Level results .She failed Mathematics and English and she wanted to write her school certificate exams again.
“I wished her the best of luck and she gave me her phone number again .I introduced my JAMB and WAEC coaching class to her and advised her to come to the coaching camp that we were having for other candidates .
“There was one of my friends who had been pestering me that she wanted to date the girl. My friend’s name is Sola .On April 8, I called her to come to my new school. She was at her coaching centre when I called her. My friend was waiting for her at the back of our school .
“About 5.30 in the evening on that April 8, she came .I was already about going to class when she arrived .I introduced her to Sola and they were at the back of our school and I went to the class. When I came back around 6.30pm, I met only her at the back of our school. My friend had left and when I asked her what transpired between them, she told me that my friend demanded sex from her and that she told him that she was on her monthly period.
“At that point, she requested transport fare from me but I told her that I didn’t have any money on me. That was why we planned a fake kidnap on her. She and myself both planned the kidnap. The intention was to collect money from her family. She told me that her father could not afford to pay any ransom but that she had an uncle who is very rich and can pay.
“I initiated the kidnap. After our agreement, she asked me to camp her in our school, but because the proprietress is not in Nigeria and she must not know, I could not camp her in our school. The proprietress has a way of monitoring the school. I took her to an uncompleted building at the back of our school.
“While she was in the uncompleted building , I used her phone to negotiate a ransom of N3 million from her father. I used her phone to communicate with her father. She complained to me that she could not sleep well the first day that 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 sleeping tablets and I left her there. I was not around the day after I gave her the drug. I attended the burial of our pastor’s father, and I came back in the night on the 11th of April.
“When I came back 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 at MTN area and dumped her body there. I lied to the bike man that she was sick and that I wanted to take her to my aunt for treatment but I dumped her body in the river.
“After everything, the father agreed to pay the ransom and he sent N500 000 to me, but I didn’t tell him that his daughter was dead. I lied to him that his daughter would be released as soon as the ransom was paid.”
The suspect said he regretted that he spent all the money on online sports betting.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Oluseyi Babaseyi,while speaking on the arrest of the suspect,urged residents of the state to be mindful of the company that they keep .
Babaseyi said: “The Ogun State Police Command commends the IGP, Olatunji Rilwan 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 Bode Ojajuni, which have continued to yield remarkable security successes within Ogun State.”
He also continued: “The successful operation carried out by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, leading to the neutralisation and arrest of the notorious suspect and recovery of incriminating exhibits, underscores the bravery, professionalism, and unwavering dedication of the operatives. Their resilience and intelligence-driven approach continue to frustrate criminal networks and reinforce public confidence in the police.”
He assured that “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 the security agencies with timely and credible information.
