Youths of Umuadara, Umulogho, in Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State, have arrested one of the suspects linked to the rape and killing of a student of the College of Nursing, Obowo, Wendy Achumba.
A community source said the youth leader, Chidiebere Iweajunwa, led the operation that resulted in the arrest of the suspect after what was described as a thorough local investigation.
The suspect, identified as Onyema Okonkwo, was said to have confessed to the crime in a video interview that has gone viral.
In the video, Okonkwo alleged that he and another suspect, identified simply as Emmanuel, went to the student’s apartment at about 7 p.m. after she allegedly rejected their sexual advances.
According to him, they invaded her residence, took turns raping her, and later attacked her.
“We wanted her to give us sex, she refused. We went to her house around 7 p.m. I had sex with her two times, Emmanuel had once. After that, I hit her with a stick. I didn’t know Emmanuel returned with a knife to kill her,” Okonkwo claimed.
A source in the community said Achumba was living alone in the building at the time of the incident after her two neighbours, also nursing students, had left for their practical experience.
“She was the only one in the house. The owner of the house is based in America. There were three students occupying the house, but two went for their nursing experience, leaving only her in the compound,” the source said.
The suspect was reportedly handed over to the police.
The Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, had yet to respond to inquiries at the time of filing this report.
In a separate development, operatives of the Katsina State Police Command have dismantled a seven-man kidnapping syndicate allegedly responsible for the abduction of an eight-year-old boy in Katsina metropolis.
The command said the suspects were arrested through a coordinated intelligence-led operation carried out by the newly established Violent Crime Response Unit.
In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, said the child was abducted on May 13, 2026, at about 6 p.m. while returning home from an Islamic school.
According to the police, the kidnappers contacted the victim’s family the following day and demanded ₦50 million ransom for his release.
After negotiations, the family reportedly paid ₦17 million before the child was released.
Police operatives later launched an investigation and arrested six members of the gang on Friday.
The suspects were identified as Nura Aliyu, 39, described as the mastermind and a neighbour of the victim’s family; Abubakar Aminu, 37; Ibrahim Muhammad, 51; Iliyasu Sani, 51; Abubakar Muhammad, 27; and Abdullahi Isma’il, 30.
During investigation, the suspects reportedly confessed and disclosed that another accomplice, identified simply as Abdul, was still at large.
The police said a manhunt had been launched to arrest the fleeing suspect.
Items recovered from the suspects included a Peugeot 307 vehicle, a Boxer motorcycle and ₦7.5 million believed to be part of the ransom proceeds, alongside other exhibits.
The Katsina State Commissioner of Police, Ali Umar Fage, commended the operatives for the swift operation and assured residents that the command would intensify efforts against kidnapping and other violent crimes in the state.
