Delta State Police Command has arrested a second year student of Southern Delta University, Ozoro, Okeoghene Prince, who allegedly stabbed a female colleague, Peace Oba, in the neck and chest regions and feigned her kidnap to her father, in a bid to make N2 million from him as ransom payment.
To achieve his aim, the suspect had lured the 100-level victim to the school auditorium for a phony academic discussion.
At the time of committing the crime, the suspect was a student of Accounting Department while the victim was studying Chemistry.
Narrating how the incident occurred, the Command s Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, who confirmed the arrest, said that on June 14, the suspect, Prince, invited Peace, whom he claimed to be his friend, to come to him in the school auditorium, unknown to her the danger awaiting her.
While Peace was with him in the auditorium, the suspect reportedly stabbed her twice in the neck and once in the chest.
Having done that, he took the teenage student’s phone and called her father, telling him that his daughter had been kidnapped.
He initially demanded a ransom of N2 million before victim would regain her freedom, but later called the father for quick advance payment of N200,000 to avoid the murder of his daughter.
After that, he was said to have abandoned the victim in the school auditorium where she was discovered by the school security men.
Recovered were the knife used to stab the teenager and her phone that was used to call her father by the suspect.
However, fortunately, the victim didn’t die, and before she lost consciousness, she mentioned the suspect’s name and told of how he made moves to kill her by stabbing her.
The school management was said to have started looking for the suspect until he was summoned and arrested on June 15.
The victim is said to be in a critical condition in a hospital in Ondo State.
In his confession, the suspect said: “Peace is my friend; we are not dating. We have been friends for over a month.
“On June 14, I invited her to the school auditorium. I went to the auditorium with a knife with the intention to kill her. I wanted to use it to collect ransom from her father. She didn’t offend me.
“Before I stabbed her, we were discussing school activities and how the management was moving us from our Ozoro campus to Orokpe in Warri.
“I had access to her phone because she had opened it before I stabbed her. My intention was to kill her to get money from her father.
“I called her father for the payment of N2 million ransom. I used the Palmpay account of a friend based in Lagos State. I got the account number by transferring money to him, and I thought that if I should get the ransom payment, I would ask him to transfer it back to me as it was a mistake.”
The PPRO advised citizens to ask questions on money received from friends for unknown reasons.
He said that the suspect would be charged to court after the completion of investigation.
