The Nigerian Army has confirmed the arrest of Adeleye Ayomide, suspected of killing 300-level Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUAA) student, Idowu Christiana.

Christiana was abducted along Ikorodu-Yaba Road, Lagos State, on August 19, 2024.

A family source under anonymity revealed that the abductors initially demanded a ransom of N3 million… later accepted N350,000.

Despite payment, the kidnappers refused to release Christiana.

81 Division Nigerian Army spokesperson, Lt-Col. Olabisi Ayeni, confirmed Ayomide’s arrest on Thursday.

Ayeni said the suspect was arrested by men of the 174 Battalion, saying, “Yes. I am aware about the issue. We arrested him and the 9 Brigade Nigerian Army will be handing him over to the Lagos State Police Command today, so you can liaise with them for further information.”

Also, on Thursday, the Student Union Government president of FUNAAB, Ibrahim Adeyemi, confirmed Christiana’s death saying, “The union can confirm that she was reportedly killed by her abductor. We will be addressing the matter soon.”

Christiana’s death has continued to attract reactions from concerned Nigerians, especially users of the social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).

Checks on X revealed that some netizens had pointed accusing fingers at Ayomide for Christiana’s death.

The hashtag #JusticeForChristiana is one of the top trends on Nigeria’s X domain, with over 90,000 posts as of the time of filing this report.

An X user, Tommy, tweeting as #Tommyjr277, in early Thursday, stated, “Our friend, Christiana is dead, a Funaabite; was abducted by this Ayomide, a student of Philosophy in OOU, Ogun State. We want justice for our friend. The suspect is reportedly at 174 Battalion in Ikorodu. We demand justice. He must face the wrath of the law.”

One tweep, Man of Letters, with the username #Letter_to_Jack, tweeted on Wednesday night, affirming that the suspect was held at the 174 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Ikorodu, Lagos State.

He also noted that Ayomide confessed to the deceased’s father and the military operatives to have killed and buried the victim, according to “detailed reports from trusted sources.”

His tweets, among others, read, “Armed by this information, operatives began investigation into the suspect whom they observed to have a mutual relationship with Christiana Idowu, especially judging by Instagram posts as they both commented on each other’s pages. With all these information at hand, the operatives began to track down his cell phone activities and text messages.

“The cell phone tracking led them to his parent’s house, somewhere in Ikorodu. Operatives then got confirmation of his presence in the building through active tracking of his mobile device. Immediately, gallant personnel of the Nigerian Army 174bn swooped in on the suspect to conduct an arrest. After the arrest, damning evidence were seen with the suspect and this includes the victim blue ITEL A56 with IMEI:35230**.”

• Army Hand Over Suspect To Police

The Lagos State Police Command on Thursday confirmed that the Nigerian Army has handed over one Adeleye Ayomide, 23, who is accused of killing a 300-level student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Idowu Christiana.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this in a message he shared on his X handle.

“23-year-old Ayomide Adeleye has been handed over to #LagosPoliceNG by 9 Brigade #HQNigerianArmy. The handover took place today, September 5, 2024, at about 1400hrs. Investigation is ongoing,” he wrote.