From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Benue State police command has confirmed the arrest of one of the suspects in the alleged murder of a university lecturer in Benue State.
The body of Dr. Karl Gwaghger, an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering with the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi (FUAM) was found around the JS Tarka Foundation last Saturday while his Venza car was taken away by his killers.
The state police command, in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Catherine Anene on Saturday revealed that the suspect, one Nnamdi Jeremiah of Umigwe village in Imo State, and a student of FUAM was arrested in Abuja where he had gone to sell the deceased’s car.
“On 28/11/2020 at about 21:20hrs information was received that Dr. Karl Kwaghger, a lecturer with the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi was found in a pool of blood at J.S. Tarka Foundation where he went to relax.
“Swiftly, police detectives were deployed to the scene where they met the victim brutally stabbed in his ribs and cut in his neck. The victim was rushed to Bishop Murray Hospital where he was confirmed dead and deposited at the morgue.
“During investigation, one Nnamdi Jeremiah ‘m’ of Umigwe village, Imo State, a student of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi was arrested in Abuja where he went to sale the car of the deceased.”
Anene disclosed that the suspect confessed to the crime and further stated that his initial intension was not to kill but to threaten the victim with a make-believe gun and then rob him of his Venza car.
Meanwhile, the 70-year- old father of the deceased, Pa Peter Kwaghger has called on the government to ensure that justice is served following the killing of his first son by the suspects.
Pa Kwaghger, a local government service retiree, said he was at home on a certain night when some persons called to inform him that his son had been shot and that he was receiving treatment at the hospital.
“After I got that news, I couldn’t sleep that night be- cause I didn’t know how grievous the injury he sustained might have been. The next morning I was on my way to Makurdi with one of my brothers.”
The septuagenarian said it was while they were on their way to Makurdi, that his broth- er broke the news of his son’s death to him.
Visibly shaken Pa Kwaghger described his late son as a very humble and sociable person who was loved by all. He wondered how his life would be after the loss of the bread winner of his family.
While expressing satisfaction with the manner in which the police had handled the matter so far, Pa Kwaghger said, all he wanted for his son is justice.