Operatives of the Kogi State Police Command have arrested a 20-year-old man, Paul Jeremiah, for the alleged murder of a 100-level female student at the Federal University, Lokoja, the state capital.
The State Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP William Aya, confirmed the suspect’s arrest to Daily Trust, on Friday, 13 September, 2024 explaining that the suspect narrated in details how he carried out the dastardly act .
According to Aya, the suspect was arrested on Wednesday, 11 September, 2024 in Lokoja and he is currently being investigated.
It was gathered that Jeremiah who is an indigene of Kaduna state, kidnapped and killed the 19-year-old student identified as Damilola and then removed her vital organs allegedly for ritual purposes.
The victim was reported missing on 4 September, 2024.
Sources said Jeremiah had kidnapped Damilola in Felele-Lokoja and took her to an uncompleted building in the area.
He contacted her family for ransom payment to secure her release and he was also said to have placed an initial ransom of N400,000 on her in which the family paid to secure her release.
Not satisfied, he reportedly contacted her family again, demanding an additional N10 million before the lady could regain her freedom.
However, the suspect was tracked down by police to his location and got arrested in the process of trying to collect the demanded N10 million ransom from the family of the slain lady
Meanwhile, the suspect, in a viral video, confessed to the crime, but claimed he acted alone.
In the video, the suspect led the security operatives to a shallow grave in the bush where he had left her remains, stating that he killed the lady because she had seen his face after the abduction.
“I committed the act alone. I strangled her. I killed her because she was trying to escape after seeing my face,” he said.