The Imo State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of two suspects over the alleged rape and murder of a 21-year-old nursing student, Wendy Achumba, in Umuadara Umulogho, Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State.
The deceased was a student of Our Lady of Mercy Nursing School, Obowo, where she was undergoing post-basic training in midwifery before her death last Thursday.
Police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, disclosed on Sunday that operatives of the Obowo Divisional Police Headquarters, working with community stakeholders, arrested the suspects following intelligence-led investigations into the incident.
The suspects were identified as 32-year-old Onyema Okonkwo and 25-year-old Emmanuel Onyekachi, both indigenes of Umuadara Umulogho.
According to the police, Onyema Okonkwo confessed during interrogation to raping and killing the victim in an attempt to conceal the crime. He also allegedly implicated Emmanuel Onyekachi as an accomplice, claiming they killed the student after she recognised them.
Okoye stated that the victim’s lifeless body was discovered in her private off-campus residence in Umuadara, Umulogho.
“Operatives of the Obowo Divisional Police Headquarters, in collaboration with community stakeholders, have arrested two suspects allegedly connected with the rape and murder of Wendy Achumba, aged 21, a post-basic nursing student of Mercy College of Nursing Science, Umulogho, whose lifeless body was discovered in her private off-campus residence,” he said.
He added that the suspects had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and prosecution.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Audu Bosso, assured residents that the matter would be handled diligently and professionally, stressing that anyone found culpable would face the full weight of the law.
Meanwhile, the traditional ruler of Umuadara Umulogho, Patrick Uwalaka, alongside members of the community, publicly condemned the killing and dissociated the community from the crime.
Speaking at the village square on Sunday, the monarch said the community had no involvement in the incident and reaffirmed that Umulogho remained peaceful and safe for residents.
“We, the people of Umulogho, are here to denounce this wicked act. We know nothing about it, and we exonerate ourselves and the land from any repercussions. Let the gods deal with the perpetrators,” the monarch said.
He also urged anyone with useful information about the crime to come forward before, according to him, “the wrath of the deities.”
The President of Umulogho Youths, Chidiebere Iweajunwa, commended the role played by the community youth body in assisting security operatives with the arrest of the suspects and called for speedy prosecution to ensure justice for the deceased student.
