Kwara: Police nab prime suspect in murder of female hotel staff

Yusuf Ibrahim, the prime suspect in the murder of Opeyemi Bello, a female kitchen staff member at FEMDAK Hotel in the Babaode area of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, has been arrested by operatives of the state police command.

The Kwara State Police Commissioner, Adekimi Ojo, disclosed this at a press conference in Ilorin on Friday.

He said the suspect was a former staff member of the hotel, who scaled the facility’s fence at night to commit a robbery but was sighted by the deceased. He then proceeded to strangle her and escaped with her phone.


“The suspect has confessed to the crime during interrogation,” Adekimi Ojo added.

He revealed that after strangling the female kitchen staff member, the suspect “started threatening the owner of the hotel, Femi Akinyele, that it was him they wanted to kill, but used the deceased girl, Yemi as the preliminary.”

The CP said the incident was reported by Femi Akinyele, the owner of the facility, on 16 November 2025, when he found his staff member, Opeyemi Bello, unresponsive inside one of the hotel rooms.

Adekimi said, “Prior to the discovery, the hotel owner attempted to return the deceased’s missed calls only to have her phone answered by an unknown male who warned him not to call the line again.

“Upon visiting the hotel, he found the deceased lying inside the room unconscious and suspected to have been strangled with a bedspread.

“She was rushed to the hospital, where she was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” the CP added.

Adekimi revealed that “through discreet intelligence gathering and coordinated police efforts, operatives of the police arrested Yusuf Ibrahim, a former staff of the hotel.”

He vowed that the suspect would be charged to court upon conclusion of all procedures, while assuring the public of the command’s commitment to ensuring justice for the deceased and maintaining the safety of all residents of the state.