By Nicholas Ojo
No fewer than two students of the University of Benin in Edo State, have been arrested after the bruised corpse of their colleague, Francis Aniude, was recovered from the Ekosodin River in the Ekosodin community, near the Ugbowo campus of the institution.
The final-year student of the Department of Chemistry reportedly drowned in Ekosodin River, where he went swimming with the suspects.
The suspects were identified as Samson Kennedy, a 200-level student of Biochemistry and Wilfred Emmanuel, a 500-level student of Optometry.
The duo, who were neighbours with Aniude, reportedly invited him to the Ekosodin River for sightseeing on the 29th of June, 2023, where he was allegedly drowned by the duo, who ran back to the school campus to raise the alarm after the incident.
A student of the Department of Chemistry who claimed to be an eyewitness explained that “Francis was drowned in the Ekosodin River, located in an off-campus community near the school, and was declared missing.
The student added, “After the deceased got drowned, the duo ran back to the Ekosodin community to seek the help of the community and vigilance members but the deceased died before help could come his way.
“The corpse was recovered from the river on July 1 by local divers. The two students were arrested following the discovery of blood on the deceased’s lips and peeled skin around his neck region which raised suspicion amongst family members and relatives who are demanding an autopsy.”
Confirming the incident was the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, noting that the suspects were assisting the command in the ongoing investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death.
Nwabuzor said the case was reported at the Ugbowo Police Station, adding that the Divisional Police Officer and his men led a team of local divers to the scene of the incident.
“Luckily enough, they were able to recover the body. The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigations.
“Two persons were arrested because they went together to swim in that river when the ugly incident occurred. “Arresting them is very important so that we can know what made them leave their hostel and go to that river at that time and what happened right there in the river,” Nwabuzor said.
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