SAN FRANCISCO, August 11, (THEWILL) – A civil society group, the Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged, (CENTREP), has condemned in its entirety the gruesome murder of a student of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, (FUPRE), in Ugbomro, near Effurun, Delta State.
The deceased simply identified as Jimoh Latif Babatunde was waylaid by unknown gunmen who ambushed him on his way off campus where he had gone to buy a packet of indomie noodles and eggs.
THEWILL learnt that the victim was a few metres away from the gate to the institution when he was shot at close range by his assailants who fled without any resistance from nearby mobile police checkpoint at the institution’s gate.
The student, said to be the only child of his parents, was a 400-level student at the computer science department of the institution.
Sources said that the student was seen the following day in the pool of his own blood with polythene bag containing the items he bought beside him.
Executive Director of CENTREP, Oghenejabor Ikimi, who confirmed the incident in an email statement said it was a barbaric act and condemned same in its entirety.
Giving graphic details of the incident, Ikimi who said he had carried out an inquiry into the killing, said a source had confirmed the incident which happened about 9pm on the fateful day.
According to him; “a student source had confirmed to us in the course of our private inquiry into the incident that the deceased who is the only child of his parents had left his hostel at about 9pm on the fateful day to purchase packets of indomie and eggs as he was hungry.”
Ikimi said the source had added that the deceased was on his way to his hostel when he was shot on the neck by the unknown gunmen few metres away from the gate of the student hostel manned by two mobile policemen.
“The source further informed us that the corpse of the deceased was found in a pool of his blood the next day while still clinging to the polythene bag containing the packets of indomie and eggs,” Ikimi said.
Ikimi therefore called on the newly-appointed Inspector General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, to immediately order an independent and an unbiased comprehensive investigation into “the above blue murder in a bid to apprehending the fleeing culprits and prosecuting them for murder in the law court,” adding; “as justice delayed is justice denied.”
