The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a 100-level Biology student of the Federal University Lokoja, Jeremiah Paul, over the death of a female colleague, Abigail Damilola.
The suspect, from Kaduna State, confessed to abducting Damilola, demanding N400,000 ransom from her family, and subsequently killing her.
According to reports, Jeremiah took Damilola to an uncompleted building, where he ended her life after receiving the ransom.
He then contacted her family again, demanding an additional N10m. However, police tracked him down and arrested him.
During interrogation, Jeremiah claimed he acted alone and denied cutting off any parts of Damilola’s body, despite police findings suggesting otherwise.
He stated that he killed her because she had seen his face and he didn’t want her to escape and expose him.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya, confirmed the incident during a telephone chat with our correspondent on Thursday.
Aya said the deceased was reported missing, prompting the police to action, leading to the arrest of the suspect.
He said, “The case of a missing person was reported to the police and our officers swung into action, leading to the arrest of the suspect, Jeremiah Paul, a 21-year-old 100-level student of Federal University, Lokoja. He was arrested on Wednesday and when interrogated, he said he kidnapped the girl on September 4.
“The suspect said he kidnapped her and demanded a ransom of N400,000 from the parent. According to him, after collecting the money, he strangled the girl and mutilated her body. He then buried her body in the Lokoja area. Yesterday, Wednesday, he led the police to the scene where he buried the girl.”
A video shared on social media shows Jeremiah confessing to the crime, claiming it was his “first time.”
Aya however disclosed that the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the mortuary.
“Investigation is still on to be sure if there are still other persons involved in the killing,” he added.
