From Gospel Singer to Alleged Killer: What we know about Timileyin Ajayi's alleged murder of Salome Adaidu

Social media has been buzzing about acclaimed gospel singer Timileyin Ajayi killing 24-year-old Salome Adaidu. He was caught while trying to bury her. The shocking killing of Salome has sparked lots of reactions from friends, family, and social media users, leaving questions as to why 32-year-old Timileyin really killed Salome.

According to Timileyin, he initially asked Salome to come to his house, but she requested transport money. He told her he didn't have any money to give her. However, Salome eventually made her way to his house, where she complained about being hungry. 

Timileyin claimed he went out to buy Indomie noodles for her, but after a short while together, he decided to check her phone. Following that, Timi claimed that he was triggered to cut Salome with a knife when he went through her phone. 

I have no regrets - Timileyin Ajayi

During an interview with Channelstv, he was asked if he has any regret and he said, ''I don't have any regret. Because life is reciprocal, that's what I thought.'' 

He said he caught Salome cheating on him, told her and she refused the allegations, begged him that she was sorry, told her to go to the bathroom where something happened and he couldn't take it, then he took the knives and he killed her. 

When asked how he felt when caught, he said, ''I was not caught, I surrendered myself, and if I don't want anybody to catch me, I would have done that, its very simple to be very honest.''

He butchered my Sister into 40 pieces - Salome Elder Sister

The firstborn of the Adaidu family, Patience Unekwuojo Adaidu, during an interview with BBC Pidgin gave more insight as to who Timileyin Ajayi is to her late sister killed. 

"Timileyin is not her boyfriend" and added that her family does not know him as her sister’s boyfriend.

"On Saturday evening, my sister was dressing up to go out. She told me she was going to visit a friend," Patience explained.

She said the friend is someone the entire family has known for the past seven years. "If she says she's going to visit that person, we allow her because we don’t restrict anyone's movement in our house," she added.

According to Patience, they permitted her sister, Salome, to leave the house on Saturday. However, they didn’t hear anything from her until Sunday. Patience received a call while returning to her workplace, asking her to come to Uke Hospital, where she learned her sister had been involved in an accident.

Patience recounted asking for details about the accident—where and how it happened—but said the police provided no clear answers.

"When I got to the hospital, I met my younger brother and our lastborn there. I asked them where Ele (Salome) was, and they told me she had died," Patience said tearfully.

She continued, "I went to see her, thinking it was just a regular accident. But when I saw her body, it was cut into pieces—clean cuts, like someone arranging a cow on a table. I asked the police what happened, but they gave me no information."

She said the police suggested burying her sister quickly because her body was in a bad state. Despite their insistence, Patience and her family buried Salome temporarily but expressed their dissatisfaction, saying, "That is not where she belongs; it’s just to keep the body."

Patience said since Sunday night, her family has been unable to sleep and began seeking justice on Monday.

"The police claimed the man my sister went out with was a family friend. With everything I know, I am certain none of us knows him. Even though Salome and I weren’t very close, two of my other sisters were her best friends, and they don’t know him either," she said.

Patience accused Timileyin of killing her sister in his room. "I saw big rubber containers there. No man uses such things to wash clothes—they use buckets. His neighbors said loud music was playing in his room while he butchered my sister. An Okada rider noticed blood dripping when he tried to carry her head to Uke and stopped him."

"Ele is gone now and can’t tell us what happened, but we want justice for her. They cut her, sliced her, and butchered her. All we want is justice," Patience said, crying.

Patience described Salome as a young woman with promising plans for her life. "Her boss at Nicon Insurance had just registered her for an online training she was attending every Saturday. She was so happy when she got the opportunity," she said.

Salome's mother, Mrs. Ojomachenwu Adaidu, shared her heartbreaking account of the final moments with her daughter and how she learned about her tragic death.

Speaking to BBC News Pidgin, Mrs. Adaidu explained that she was in her village, recovering from an illness when the devastating news reached her.

"Around 3:30 PM, while I was lying down, someone called me, introducing himself as a police officer. He greeted me in Hausa, but I told him I didn’t understand Hausa. The phone he was using to call me was my daughter's. He said he would find someone to explain things to me."

About an hour later, the policeman called her back. Mrs. Adaidu said she was concerned because it hadn’t been long since she last spoke with Salome. The officer then told her that her daughter had been involved in an accident and was at Uke General Hospital.

"I asked to speak with her since I wasn’t in Abuja, but the policeman said no. He told me my daughter's leg was broken, and they were giving her oxygen. I cried out, saying it was serious if she needed oxygen. The officer tried to console me, saying I should thank God that I was informed about the accident."

Salome's immediate younger sister and her brother-in-law rushed to the hospital. Mrs. Adaidu didn’t hear from them until later that evening.

"Around 8 PM, my husband’s brother told me they had butchered my child and that she was dead. I screamed, 'God forbid! That cannot be my child!' I began praying, not knowing the situation was that bad."

The widow, whose husband had recently passed away, expressed the deep pain of losing her daughter.

"She struggled through school, suffered for me, and did everything to support me. She even carried goods on her head to sell so we could have food. Now, see how she died. I can’t take it anymore. I said I would follow her in death, but people stopped me. The pain is too much for me," Mrs. Adaidu said, her voice breaking with emotion.

She described Salome as her pillar since her husband’s death.

"Since my husband passed, Salome has been my husband. Even when I was in the village, she would bring me a power bank so I could always talk to her. Now, my other 'husband' is gone," she lamented through tears.

Mrs. Adaidu recalled their last conversation on Saturday when Salome mentioned she was washing clothes.

"I asked her where she was, and she said she was washing clothes. I asked if she was the only one washing, and she said yes, that the firstborn was cleaning the living room. She also said that once she finished, she would go for her NYSC training. Maybe it was from there that this happened because the bag she took to the training was the one the police brought to me on Monday."

Mrs. Adaidu speculated that something sinister might have happened.

"Maybe on her way, she entered a 'one-chance' vehicle or someone used medicine on her because she didn’t have many friends. I want justice for my daughter," she concluded.

A man who identifies as Salome's father said that the way Timileyin cut Salome was as if it was for consumption. He said when they went to Timileyin's room, knives and a cutlass were found there, and there is evidence that Salome is not the first person he has killed. He also said Timileyin is known to be a fraudster, deceiving many churches to collect their money and running away, duping numerous people.

According to some posts on social media, it was claimed that Timileyin happened to be a chorister in Christ Embassy at Umuahia before he left the church. It was also noted that Timileyin was gifted but wanted more in life, and his pursuit led him to this. A man called Mr Charles said Timileyin once declared himself an atheist before repenting and returning to the church.

The questions in the hearts of many are as to why he did that? What led him to kill if he was truly a gospel singer? Doesn’t he have a family? Was he someone who didn’t have anyone to correct him? What was his motive for killing?

Meanwhile, the suspect, Timileyin Ajayi, is in custody at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Nasarawa State Police Command in Lafia, the state capital.