Four persons, including the son of a professor, have been arrested by the police in connection with the murder of a fourth-year law student of Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu.

Obinna Obasi-Awa, the deceased, was reportedly murdered and buried in a shallow grave in a bush near ABSU last weekend.

Mr. Ambrose Aisabor, the Abia Commissioner of Police, confirmed the arrest of the four suspects to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Umuahia.

Aisabor said the police also recovered a locally made pistol and the deceased's clothes beside the shallow grave.

The commissioner said preliminary investigations further revealed that Obasi-Awa was tortured to death by a cult group named 'Maphices' during his initiation by members of the group.

"Two of the suspects, among them the son of a professor, had already made confessional statements to the police and said Obinna died from the injury he sustained during initiation.

"They said the student wanted to join the cult and was undergoing initiation rites before the unfortunate incident," he said.

He said the police had already exhumed the decomposing corpse for autopsy, adding that the process would expose the real cause of his death. Aisabor said the suspects would be arraigned soon.

The commissioner, who described the involvement of students in cult activities as retrogressive, advised parents to devote more time in the training their children.

NAN