The police in Imo State, South-east Nigeria, say they have arrested a hotelier over the death of an employee of his hotel.
The suspect, Ibeh Obasi, 38, owns the hotel, Our Guest House, in the Umulogho community in the Obowo Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Obasi was said to have been arrested in connection to the death of the 25-year-old victim, Ebuka Udemba, who allegedly suffocated to death after he was tortured and locked up in the hotel’s generator house for alleged stealing of a customer’s mobile phone.
The late Udemba was a staff member in the hotel until his death.
The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said the incident happened in Umuokpa, a community in Obowo Local Government Area of the state.
He said the victim hailed from the Umuokpa community in the Obowo Local Government Area of the state, while the suspect came from the Umulogho community.
The police spokesperson did not mention when the incident happened.
However, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the body of the victim was found in the facility’s generator house on Friday.
How the victim died
Mr Okoye narrated how the victim was killed.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim was tortured and locked up inside the generator room of the said guest house by the suspect and two others at large, where he suffocated to death, on the accusation of stealing a customer’s handset,” he said.
Mr Okoye added, “Accordingly, the suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Owerri for consolidation of the ongoing investigation.”
The police spokesperson said the suspect had “provided useful information” that would assist police operatives in tracking down all suspects involved in the crime.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, has asked the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the SCID to carry out a “comprehensive investigation” into the incident, Mr Okoye said.
Mr Danjuma also directed the deputy commissioner of police to ensure that all the suspects involved in the murder were arrested and prosecuted.
The police commissioner, while commiserating with the family and friends of the victim, condemned the incident.
He, however, asked residents of the area not to take laws into their own hands, assuring that the police in the state were “on top of the situation and had commenced a thorough investigation” into the incident.
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