Following intensive, diligent, and intelligence-led investigation, Police detectives in Enugu State have arrested a male suspect over the murder of one Deborah Sam-Praise Ememem, aged 22, recently found dead in a hotel room in Nsukka axis of the State.

Her iPhone, tablet, earbuds, and other personal items were also successfully recovered from him.

In a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the State Police Command, Daniel Ndukwe on July 7, the Command said that the 22-year-old male suspect, identified as Emmanuel Gambo, hails from Kogi State.

According to the statement, the case, initially reported at the Nsukka Urban Police Division, was transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (State CID) for thorough investigation.

Findings revealed that on June 14th, 2025, about 9:00 p.m., the suspect, said to be a second-year student of Material and Metallurgical Engineering Department at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), checked into a hotel in Obukpa, Nsukka, with the deceased, for a sex romp.

In the early hours of June 15th, 2025, a dispute ensued after a second round of sexual intercourse, during which the deceased allegedly demanded an additional ₦15,000 from the suspect, aside the ₦5,000 earlier paid, police stated.

The disagreement turned violent, resulting to the suspect allegedly strangling her to death.

The suspect then wrapped the deceased’s body in a towel and a piece of curtain torn from the hotel room and hid it under the bed, police said.

On June 16th, 2025, about 9:00 a.m., hotel staff noticed a foul odour oozing out of the room.

Upon investigation, the decomposing body was discovered concealed beneath the bed.

The suspect had provided a false name and unreachable phone number on the hotel’s registration form, which initially hindered efforts to trace and arrest him.

However, acting on credible and painstakingly-gathered intelligence, the detectives finally located and arrested the suspect at his off-campus residence in Nsukka on July 2nd, 2025.

During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to the crime.

The deceased’s iPhone was immediately recovered from him, a bottle of Asconi Agor red wine, which the deceased had brought to the hotel, was also found in his possession.

The suspect later led detectives to recover the deceased’s Redmi tablet and earbuds, which he had thrown out through the hotel window in a bag after allegedly committing the crime, the police stated.

The Commissioner of Police in the State, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, has commended the detectives for the successful investigation and arrest of the suspect.

He reassured members of the public of the Command’s commitment to ensuring justice, security, and the rule of law, urging parents and guardians to closely monitor their children and wards, even as he cautioned young people against indulging in social vices and succumbing to negative peer pressure.