Nigeria: How Abducted Female Student Was Killed, Buried After Ransom

13 September 2024

A 20-year-old man, Paul Jeremiah, has been arrested for the murder of a 100-level female student at the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi state.

The state police command's spokesman, SP William Aya, confirmed the suspect's arrest to Daily Trust, on Friday.

Aya said the suspect was arrested on Wednesday 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.

He then removed her vital organs allegedly for ritual purposes.

The victim was reported missing on September 4, 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.

He was 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 N10m 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 N10m 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.

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