A 24-year-old final-year student of Petrochemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), identified as Collins, who has been arrested for allegedly killing his girlfriend, 21-year-old Justina Otuene Nkang, a 300-level Biochemistry student of the same university, for ritual purposes has broken his silence.
In an engagement with the media, Collins noted that he did not commit the dastardly act. He stated that he did not report the incident to his girlfriend’s family or friends because he was scared that he would be accused of committing the act.
When asked if he contacted any of the lady’s relatives or friends, he said, “No, I did not.”
“I didn’t tell anybody. I was very scared. I did not know what to do. I did not report to my neighbours because I am new here. Everybody will blame it on me,” he said.
He added, “I didn’t dismember her body.”
According to Collins, they ate a snack, Hollandia yogurt, the night before her demise.
“I bought it. It was both of us who drank it,” he continued.
The incident happened on October 22, 2023, at the suspect’s rented room on Road 15, NTA Road, Port Harcourt. The suspect was caught by the estate security when he was trying to dispose of the victim’s mutilated body in a wheelbarrow. The security alerted the police, who arrested the suspect and recovered the body.
The victim’s body was wrapped in bloody sacks. It was alleged that the suspect plucked out her eyes and cut off her breast. The suspect claimed that the victim slept and did not wake up, but he did not explain why he butchered her.
The victim was reported missing on October 20, 2023, after she boarded a bolt ride from her workplace at Prestige Specialist Hospital. She was last seen by her colleagues and friends on that day. Her family and friends launched a search for her on social media, but their efforts were in vain.
According to the police, a search in the suspect’s room also revealed some hard drugs.
A family source, John Otuene, who is the victim’s cousin, told the media that the victim’s father had died and her mother had struggled to raise Justina and her siblings. The boyfriend was not known to the family until this unfortunate occurrence. She was the only daughter and fourth child of the family.
Justina’s brother, Osas Otene, a level 500 Chemical Engineering student also of UNIPORT, said that although the family were distraught, they were trying to cope with the sudden death of their beloved sister.
The suspect is currently in police custody assisting in investigations. The state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, said the Commissioner of Police (CP) would address the press on the development by 12 p.m. on October 26, 2023.
The murder case has sparked outrage and condemnation on social media, with many users calling for justice for the victim and an end to ritual killings in the country. Some users also expressed sympathy and condolences to the victim’s family and friends.
This is a tragic and shocking case that has shaken the UNIPORT community and the nation at large.