The police command in Enugu has arrested a student of the Material and Metallurgical Engineering Department at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for the alleged murder of a female student.

This was announced in a statement by the command’s spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, on Monday in Enugu.

Mr Ndukwe said the command, following an investigation, arrested the murder suspect of Deborah Sam-Praise Ememem, 22, found dead in a hotel room in Nsukka.

He said detectives successfully recovered Ms Ememem’s iPhone, tablet, earbuds, and other personal belongings.

According to the police, the 22-year-old suspect, Emmanuel Gambo, a second-year student of the Material and Metallurgical Engineering Department of UNN, hails from Kogi.

“The case, initially reported to the Nsukka Urban Police Division, was transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (State CID) for thorough investigation. Findings revealed that on June 14, 2025, at about 9:00 p.m., the suspect 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,” he said.

The spokesman said that after the suspect strangled her, he then wrapped the deceased’s body in a towel and a curtain torn from the hotel room and hid her remains under the bed.

He stated that on June 16, 2025, at approximately 9:00 a.m., hotel staff detected a foul odour emanating from the room. Upon investigation, the decomposing body was discovered concealed beneath the bed.

Mr Ndukwe stated that the suspect had initially provided a false name and an unreachable phone number on the hotel’s registration form, which hindered efforts to trace and detain him.

“However, acting on credible and painstaking intelligence, police detectives located and detained the suspect at his lodge in Nsukka on July 2, 2025,” Mr Ndukwe explained.

The police spokesperson said that during interrogation, the suspect 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 police 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,” he said.

(NAN)