Police Arrest Suspected Killer Of UNN Female Student

The suspected killer of a final year female student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has been arrested.

The victim, one Deborah Sam-Praise Ememem, 22, was last week found dead in a hotel room along Obukpa road, Nsukka.

The arrest of her suspected killer was contained in a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, Monday night.

According to him, the operatives of the command, through “an intensive, diligent, and intelligence-led investigation”, arrested the suspected killer, and also recovered an iPhone, tablet, earbuds, and other personal belongings of the deceased.

The release identified 22-year-old Emmanuel Gambo, from Kogi State, as the prime suspect.

Quoting the statement, “The case, initially reported to Nsukka Urban Police Division, was transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (State CID) for thorough investigations. Findings revealed that on June 14, 2025, at about 9pm, the suspect, a second-year student of Material and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), checked into a hotel in Obukpa, Nsukka, with the deceased.

“In the early hours of June 15, 2025, a dispute ensued after a second round of intercourse, during which the deceased allegedly demanded an additional ₦15,000 from the suspect, on top of the ₦5,000 earlier paid. The disagreement turned violent, and the suspect strangled her to death. The suspect then wrapped the deceased’s body in a towel and a curtain torn from the hotel room and hid it under the bed.”

Ndukwe added that on June 16th, 2025, at about 9am, hotel staffers noticed a foul odour oozing from the room. Upon investigations, the PPRO stated, the decomposing body was discovered concealed beneath the bed.

He continued, “The suspect had provided a false name and unreachable phone number on the hotel’s registration form, which initially hindered efforts to trace and arrest him.

“However, acting on credible and painstakingly gathered intelligence, the police detectives located and arrested the suspect at his lodge in Nsukka on July 2, 2025. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime.

“The deceased’s iPhone was immediately recovered from him. A bottle of Asconi Agor red wine, which the deceased had brought to the hotel, was also found in his possession. He later led detectives to recover the deceased’s Redmi tablet and earbuds, which he had thrown out through the hotel window in a bag after committing the crime.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, has commended the detectives for the successful arrest of the suspect. He reassured the public of the Command’s commitment to ensuring justice, security, and the rule of law.

CP Giwa also urged parents and guardians to closely monitor their children and wards, and cautioned young people against indulging in social vices and succumbing to negative peer pressure.