Timileyin Ajayi: Cold-Blooded Murderer Or Deeply Disturbed Individual?
This article’s metaphorical title serves to underscore how mental health issues can be present yet invisible, impactful yet hard to grasp, and significant yet stigmatized or casually ignored. Ghosts are unseen, which is why many are quick to dismiss their existence. By the same token, the relative invisibility of mental health illness and/ or struggles is precisely why many readily dismiss out-of-hand discussions surrounding it. Therefore, it is necessary to stress that the overarching aim of this piece is to highlight the silent and often destructive impact of poor mental health and not Timileyin Ajayi, the self-acclaimed gospel singer recently arrested by the police following the gruesome discovery of his late girlfriend’s severed head in a holdall that was in his possession.
As a mental health campaigner, unwaveringly dedicated to spreading awareness and working towards ending the stigmatization of mental health-related issues in our country, I cannot help but view the ongoing Ajayi saga as a pivotal moment to highlight the confessed killer’s crime in drawing an important parallel with mental health, despite the poignant sensitivity of the matter in question.
To begin with, Timileyin Ajayi’s crime churns the stomach. It was horrifying enough that he took the life of a promising young lady with her whole life ahead of her, and much worse was its attending brutality. Nothing remotely justifies that level of wanton callousness. it. Indubitably, our society, as a whole, is resolute in our common resolve that Ajayi deserves everything that’s coming to him. In Nigeria, it is near-certain, under our laws, that he is staring down the barrel of a death sentence.
That said, as one who is familiar with the complexities of mental health, I find myself viewing the killer and his dastardly crime through wider lenses. Since his arrest, a series of clips have appeared online featuring the press and police interviewing the accused. In one of those interviews, he was asked if he felt any remorse about murdering his late girlfriend, and maintaining his stony expression, he said he didn’t. Many would have been shocked by this admission, but that’s because people cannot comprehend that a man with sociopathic tendencies like he seems to have exhibited cannot feel and empathise.
Sociopathy is a term commonly used to describe a person with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). It is a mental health condition characterised by persistent patterns of disregard for the rights, feelings and well-being of others. Sociopaths are manipulative and deceitful and behave impulsively. They struggle to form genuine emotional connections. Interestingly, sociopaths are not removed from mainstream society. They don’t dwell in a faraway “evil forest” somewhere. They are spouses, pastors, imams, teachers, work colleagues, fellow students, parents, politicians, law enforcement officers or agents, neighbours, and the list goes on. The only difference is that they comfortably wear a veneer of humaneness like everyone else and do not necessarily escalate to monstrous acts like murder unless perhaps triggered by the right set of circumstances. And what are the possible triggers?
Before examining those triggers, it is important to emphasise that sociopathy sits on the far end of the scale of mental health illnesses. For a wider range of people, mental health struggles are somewhat limited to milder conditions such as depression, acute stress, persistent low moods or lingering anxiety—conditions which are typically indicative of compromised mental health. However, as previously stated, sociopathy is what one might describe as a more aggressive manifestation of mental health illness. It is more likely to occur when the individual experiences a psychotic break—which is when the person loses touch with reality, which may be characterised by hallucinations, delusions or disorganised thinking.
Factors that potentially trigger psychosis include a gradual deterioration of one’s mental health struggles as a function of neglect, lack of access to professional and quality mental health care, or a complete unawareness of the existence of a mental health condition. Substance or persistent, long-term drug abuse is also a triggering factor. Or perhaps, in instances where the sufferer has a formal diagnosis and is placed on prescribed medication, they neglect to take their meds.
In January 2024, a 32-year-old man named Valdo Calocane killed three young undergraduates in a random stabbing spree. The sad event took place in the city of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. On the same day, he had attempted to mow down some pedestrians with his van randomly, one of whom was a 65-year-old man who subsequently ended up in critical condition. When facts of the horrifying incident emerged, it was found that Calocane suffered from paranoid schizophrenia—a mental health condition widely believed to result from a combination of genetic, biological, and environmental factors. At the point of commission of his terrible crimes, he had just been released from a secure mental health unit, and he had stopped taking his anti-psychotic medication. This triggered his psychotic break. As outrageous as the wider community of Nottingham and the rest of the UK found it, the courts paid heed to his plea of manslaughter as opposed to murder based on his diminished responsibility. In other words, could he be said to have distinctly understood the difference between right and wrong at the point of committing his crimes? Some may be inclined to argue that the same yardstick ought to be applied to Timileyin if it is found that he suffered a psychotic break. It would certainly be a valid consideration in criminal proceedings in the more developed countries. And, while the thrust of this article is not to advocate for Timileyin or in any shape or form, present as his legal mouthpiece, it is rather to highlight the real and present dangers of the lack of attention paid to mental health as a whole in our country. Unfortunately, there are many more “Timileyins” lurking who need help they simply do not have access to.
In conclusion, the overriding thrust of this article is to urge those in power to do a whole lot more to protect the health and safety of Nigerians—and a good starting point is to prioritise mental health.
Online research reveals astonishing facts. Apparently in 2024, the Nigerian government’s budgetary allocation for mental health services was not distinctly itemised within the overall health budget. The total health budget for 2024 was ₦1.228 trillion—4.47 per cent of the nation’s total budget of ₦27.5 trillion. Generally, mental health funding in Nigeria has accounted for about 3.3 per cent to 4 per cent of the total health budget, which suggests that in 2024, mental health services may have received an estimated allocation ranging from ₦40.5 billion to ₦49.1 billion, with over ninety per cent of this funding traditionally going to a minimal number of neuropsychiatric hospitals, leaving minimal resources for community-based mental health services, where funding is more critically required.
Furthermore, despite the enactment of the National Mental Health Act No. 46 of 2021, which aims to enhance and regulate mental health and substance abuse services, the integration of mental health services into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) remains alarmingly limited. This lack of coverage under NHIS means that treatments for conditions such as psychosis, bipolar disorder, and depression are often not subsidised, leading to high out-of-pocket expenses for individuals seeking mental health care. Without this vital aid, how many average Nigerians can afford the high costs of anti-psychotic medication, mood stabilisers, and so on?
Nigeria currently has less than 250 practising psychiatrists to cater to an estimated population of over 200 million. This equates to one practitioner per 800+ individuals. Yet, the WHO recommends one practitioner to 10,000 people. Shocking stuff!
The shortage of mental health professionals in Nigeria has been further worsened by the “Japa syndrome,” with many seeking greener pastures to practice their profession. The government can squarely address this issue, and not by subtle threats or a show of force. They must make it attractive for our medical personnel to want to remain.
Finally, given the foregoing, this wide gap underscores the urgent need for increased investment in mental health services, training, and retention of mental health professionals to address the country’s mental health challenges adequately.
To support our psychiatrists and psychologists, the government could also consider revising university curricula to include the formal training of mental health nursing practitioners and degrees specifically in mental health. This move will significantly boost the numbers of mental health counsellors/therapists, social workers with a focus on mental health, substance abuse counsellors, community mental health workers, policy advisors or advocates, crisis intervention specialists, mental health educators, occupational therapists with a focus on mental health, academic researchers, and so on. These professionals, in their rights, can lend great support in shoring up the sparse field of mental health professionals as it currently obtains in our nation.
– Obiageli Nnadi is a mental health expert and team lead for a registered mental health NGO in Lagos called THRYVE Network.
Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.
Timileyin Ajayi: Cold-Blooded Murderer Or Deeply Disturbed Individual? is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
