By Omolara Akintoye
The Enugu State Police Command has detained a 22 year-old student from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Emmanuel Gambo, related to the killing of a young woman, Deborah Sam-Praise Ememem, whose decaying body was found beneath a hotel bed in Obukpa, Nsukka.
In a statement issued on Tuesday through X, Police Public Relations Officer SP Daniel Ndukwe verified the arrest, the retrieval of the victim’s personal items, and the suspect’s admission of guilt regarding the crime.
The police report states that the suspect, a second-year student of Material and Metallurgical Engineering from Kogi State, had arrived at the hotel with the victim on June 14, 2025, at approximately 9:00 p.m.
“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 investigation.
Findings revealed that on June 14, 2025, at about 9:00 p.m., 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,” the report stated.
It said, “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. On June 16, 2025, at about 9:00 a.m., hotel staff noticed a foul odour coming from the room. Upon investigation, the decomposing body was discovered concealed beneath the bed. 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,” the statement said.
The individual, who had signed up with a fake identity and an uncontactable phone number, initially avoided capture. Nonetheless, following weeks of intelligence-driven inquiry, police investigators located and apprehended him at his residence in Nsukka on July 2.
While being interrogated, Gambo admitted to the murder, and the victim’s iPhone was found in his possession. Other belongings, such as a bottle of red wine brought to the hotel by the victim, along with her tablet and earbuds which the suspect had thrown out of a window in a bag were retrieved as well.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Giwa, praised the homicide detectives for their work, asserting that the Command is dedicated to providing justice and maintaining public safety.
CP Giwa advised parents and guardians to keep a watchful eye on their children and warned young people against participating in social vices and succumbing to harmful influences
