UNIBEN Student Found Dead In River, Police Arrest Colleagues

Francis Aniude

The lifeless body of a student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Edo State, Francis Aniude, has been recovered from Ekosodin River in the Ekosodin community hours after he reportedly drowned while swimming.

However, two of his colleagues, Samson Kennedy and Wilfred Emmanuel, have been arrested by police operatives after bruises were spotted on the deceased’s body.

The deceased and his colleagues had gone to the river near the Ugbowo campus of the institution to swim before the disturbing incident happened.

In a statement made available to newsmen during the weekend, the Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said the suspects were assisting the command in the ongoing investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death.

According to The PUNCH, a student who craved anonymity for fear of victimisation told reporters that the suspects reportedly invited Aniude to swim in the river where he allegedly drowned on June 29.

“After the deceased got drowned, the duo ran back to the Ekosodin community to seek the help of the community and vigilance members but the deceased died before help could come his way.

“The corpse was recovered from the river on July 1 by local divers. The two students were arrested following the discovery of blood on the deceased’s lips and peeled skin around his neck region which raised suspicion amongst family members and relatives who are demanding an autopsy,” the student reportedly said.

According to the Police spokesperson, the case was reported at the Ugbowo Police Station, adding that the Divisional Police Officer and his men led a team of local divers to the incident scene.

“Luckily enough, they were able to recover the body. The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigations.

“Two persons were arrested because they went together to swim in that river when the ugly incident occurred. Arresting them is very important so that we can know what made them leave their hostel and go to that river at that time and what happened right there in the river,” Nwabuzor said.