Uwa: Police arrest 6 suspects for rape, murder of UNIBEN student

The Edo State Police Command has arrested six suspects in connection to the brutal rape and murder of Uwaila Omozuwa.

The 22-year-old first year student of the University of Benin, was raped and fatally wounded while reading inside a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) parish on May 27, 2020.

She died three days later and her case became the rallying point for a resurgence in the national campaign against gender-based violence in Nigeria.

The Edo State Police Command paraded Nelson Ogbebor, Akato Valentine, Tina Samuel, Mary Ade, Nosa Osabohien, and Collins Ulegbe as suspects on Wednesday, August 26.

The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo, told journalists that the suspects have already made confessional statements to the Police.

"What we are seeing today, is a result of the uniting efforts of the police to get at the root of the crime," Kokumo said.

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Osabohien, a phone repairer, was the first to be arrested by the police because he bought Uwa's phone for N17,000, prompting him to lead authorities to Ulegbe who's been identified as the principal suspect.

Ulegbe confessed to striking Uwa with the fire extinguisher that has been identified as the murder weapon and left at the scene of the crime.

He named Ogbebor and Valentine as other suspects who were similarly at the scene of the crime with him. They both denied their involvement.

Ade, identified as the mastermind, allegedly offered the sum of N1 million to the gang to kill Uwa for ritual purposes.

She denied the allegation and said she would prove her innocence in court.

Samuel was arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers who wanted to arrest her son, Lucky, who has also been identified as a suspect but remains at large.

She said she hasn't seen her 21-year-old hair stylist son in five months.

Ulegbe denied that the gang raped Uwa, but Kokumo said a post-mortem examination confirmed that she was, in fact, raped.