Ogun Teacher Arrested for Murder of Teenage Student
A 30-year-old schoolteacher and church choir master, Nathaniel Baiyegun, faces murder charges after allegedly kidnapping and killing his 16-year-old former student in Ogijo, Ogun State. Operatives from the Anti-Kidnapping Section of the Ogun State Police Command arrested the suspect following weeks of investigation into the disappearance of the teenager. The victim had approached her former teacher for assistance to rewrite her West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination before she vanished.
The suspect reportedly lured the victim to an uncompleted building behind his school under the guise of an academic coaching session. Police investigations revealed a more predatory motive, involving internet fraud and unsolicited requests for explicit photographs. The suspect claimed the abduction began as a staged scheme to extort money from the family. He told investigators that he abandoned the girl in the derelict structure after administering an overdose of sedative tablets.
The scheme turned fatal when the suspect returned after a two-day absence to find the victim gasping for breath. Rather than seeking emergency medical help, he transported the dying teenager by motorcycle to the MTN area of Ogijo and dumped her body in a river. He lied to the local motorcyclist, claiming he was taking a sick relative to a family member for urgent treatment.
Despite knowing the teenager was already dead, the suspect continued extortion negotiations with her distressed family. He reduced his initial demand of N3 million to N500,000, which the family paid in full. The suspect confessed to squandering the entire ransom on online sports betting websites within days of receiving the funds.
The Ogun State Police Command recovered the body of the victim from the river following the confession of the suspect. Police spokesperson DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi confirmed that the state intelligence network is tracking an accomplice, identified simply as Sola, who remains at large. The police command urged citizens to exercise strict vigilance regarding the companies their children keep within their local communities.
This case highlights a growing and disturbing trend of local educators exploiting positions of authority for financial gain. Economic hardship, combined with the addictive nature of digital gambling, increasingly drives desperate criminal enterprises. The suspect remains in police custody awaiting formal arraignment in a court of competent jurisdiction.