By all appearances, 30-year-old Nathaniel Baiyegun lived a life that inspired trust. He was a teacher in a private school in Ogijo, Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria. In church, he stood before worshippers as a choir master, leading hymns and praise songs.
To parents, he was an educator entrusted with shaping young minds. And to students, he was simply a “teacher.”
But behind that image, police alleged, was a darker reality that ended in the tragic death of a 16-year-old girl, his former student, whose dream of rewriting her West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination was cut short.
DEATH INVITATION
The unsuspecting teenager, who completed her secondary education last year in a private school where the suspect taught Physics and Further Mathematics, reportedly failed English and Mathematics.
In her bid to rewrite WAEC this year, her former teacher, as gathered, invited her to his JAMB and WAEC coaching class on April 8, 2026. Unfortunately, she never returned from that coaching class.
Back home, her apprehensive family reportedly received a telephone call, where a strange caller announced that their daughter had been kidnapped and demanded N3 million ransom for her release.
After much bargain, family sources said N500,000 was paid as ransom. But the teenager never returned as promised, as her remains were later found in a river in Ogijo.
ARREST
A few weeks later, Baiyegun was arrested by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Section of the Ogun State Police Command. Preliminary investigations, according to the police, revealed that the suspect was into internet fraud and had at a time requested nude pictures of the deceased girl, which were sent to him via his mobile phone.
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Police sources said Baiyegun attempted to force her into a relationship with his friend, simply identified as Sola, after which she was kidnapped and kept hostage in an uncompleted building.
SUSPECT SPEAKS
However, the teacher claimed the killing was accidental. Explaining what happened, Baiyegun said: “She was one of the students in my former school. She was not my direct student because she was in the humanities, while I teach only science students. I was not teaching her class.
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“We were very close but there was no amorous relationship between us. At times, she would go to my table in the staff room and drop gifts for me, even when I was not around.
“That was just it until I deleted her number from my phone and told her not to call me again. She lied to our then principal that she was coming to return my power bank, after she was caught at a faraway location. It was true that I gave her my power bank, but she had returned it to me at school.
“But she called me to lie to the principal that she was coming to return my power bank, he saw her. I was very upset and I severed my relationship with her. She eventually passed out while I changed school.
“I didn’t hear anything from her until April 7, 2026, when I was shooting content for my Instagram page. She sighted me first. I asked her if she was writing JAMB, but she told me she didn’t do well in her O’Level results and would want to write WAEC again.
“I introduced my JAMB and WAEC coaching class to her and advised her to come to the coaching camp we were having for other candidates.”
KIDNAP PLOT
Continuing, Baiyegun said: “One of my friends, Sola, had been pestering me that he wanted to date the girl.
“So on April 8, I called her to come to my new school. She was at her coaching centre when I called her and informed her that my friend was waiting for her at the back of our school.
“At about 5:30 pm on April 8, she came, while I was about going to class. I introduced her to my friend, Sola and I left to teach. When I came back by 6:30 pm, I met only her at the back of our school. My friend had left. I asked her what transpired between them; she told me my friend demanded sex from her and that she told him she was on her monthly period.
KIDNAP
“She requested transport fare to go home, but I told her I did not have any money on me. That was why we planned a fake kidnap. The intention was to collect money from her family. She told me her father could not afford to pay any ransom but that she had an uncle who was very rich and could pay. I initiated the kidnap.
“After our agreement, she told me to camp her in our school, but because the proprietress was not in Nigeria and had a way of monitoring the school, I could not camp her there. I took her to an uncompleted building at the back of our school and used her phone to contact her father, demanding N3 million ransom.
DRUGGED
“She complained that she could not sleep well the first day she slept at the uncompleted building. I gave her four doses of D5 sleeping tablets and left her there. I did not go back to check on her the next day, being Friday, April 10, because I attended our pastor-father’s burial, and I came back on the night of April 11, 2026.
“I discovered she was gasping for breath. I quickly stopped a motorcycle and took her to a river at MTN area and dumped her body there. I lied to the motorcyclist that she was sick and that I was taking her to my aunt for treatment, but I dumped her body in the river.”
RANSOM PAID
While that was going on, the distraught father of the teenager was still bargaining. He was said to have pleaded for a reduction and eventually paid N500,000, which Baiyegun accepted.
“Yes, her father sent N500,000 to me, but I didn’t tell him that his daughter was dead. I lied to him that she would be released as soon as the ransom was paid,” he stated.
Asked what he used the money for, he replied: “I spent almost all the money on online sports betting and I regret it now.”
POLICE SPEAK
Spokesman for the Ogun State Police Command, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, while speaking on the arrest of the suspect, urged residents of the state to be mindful of the company they keep.
He said: “The successful operation carried out by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, leading to the arrest of the notorious suspect and recovery of incriminating exhibits, underscores the bravery, professionalism, and unwavering dedication of the operatives. Their resilience and intelligence-driven approach continue to frustrate criminal networks and reinforce public confidence in the police.
“The Ogun State Police Command assures residents that sustained efforts are being intensified to dismantle all criminal syndicates operating within the state and its environs,” he stated, while urging members of the public to continue supporting security agencies with timely and credible information.
Source: Vanguard
