The case of Farouk Mohammed 15years old and His accomplice, Kasali Jamiu (then 17 years old,that took place at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Chapel of Resurrection on 6th Avenue in Festac Town, Lagos.The Sunday Service and Altar Call On a Sunday in late November 2021, the congregation gathered for its routine service.
During the sermon’s conclusion, the resident pastor made an altar call. Two young men in attendance walked to the front of the church, claiming they wanted to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ.The Church’s Benevolence Following the service, the two young men approached the leadership.
They claimed to be entirely stranded in Lagos and lacked any form of accommodation.Out of compassion, the senior pastor, Akin Odejare, permitted the two new converts to stay within the church premises temporarily until they could find stability.Pastor Babatunde Dada, who served as both a parish pastor and the long-time administrative and accounts officer for the parish, was explicitly assigned to oversee their daily
welfare.
The two young men stayed on the church premises for less than a week. On Thursday, December 2, 2021, they chose a moment when the church building was completely empty except for Pastor Dada.The men entered Pastor Dada’s administrative office and launched a sudden, violent assault using knives and sharp weapons.
Pastor Babatunde Dada was stabbed multiple times and killed on the spot. The attackers then robbed him, taking a sum of church money and his personal belongings before fleeing the scene. He was taken to the Hospital in Lagos, where medical personnel officially confirmed him dead on arrival.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police coordinated a manhunt for the two fleeing principal suspects.Through forensic tracking and intelligence gathering, the police arrested Farouk Mohammed (then 15years old) in his hideout in Ilorin, Kwara State, where he had fled after the crime. His accomplice, Kasali Jamiu (then 17 years old), was apprehended shortly after in the Festac Town area of Lagos.
Investigators recovered the broken bottle and wooden stick used as murder weapons, alongside the deceased pastor’s stolen belongings, including his mobile phone.Upon interrogation, the teenagers confessed to the murder and revealed their backgrounds and a purely financial motive.
Pastor Dada had kindly given them money for food earlier in the day. However, when they later saw the pastor carrying a bag of cash which he had withdrawn from the bank for church administration they decided to rob him to fund their music ambitions and address a sudden family emergency.
They admitted to following the pastor upstairs into his office, striking him with a wooden plank, and stabbing him in the neck with a broken bottle before fleeing with the cash bag and his phone.In January 2022, the police officially arraigned the suspects. The
Because they pleaded not guilty, Justice Sonaike ordered that their remand remain active during the trial. Farouk Mohammed remains detained at the Special Correctional Centre for Boys in Oregun due to his minor status, while Kasali Jamiu remains held at the Ikoyi Custodial Centre.
The two men initially accused of buying the deceased pastor’s stolen phone, Mumuni Toheeb and Mubarak Soliu, were officially discharged by the lower court following legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which cleared them of direct complicity.A final sentencing verdict has not yet been publicly delivered by the Lagos State High Court. A conviction for murder carries a mandatory sentence of death, though the court will also heavily weigh Farouk Mohammed’s age and legal status as a minor at the time the crime was committed.
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The material in this post is intended solely for educational and informational purposes.
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