THE Ondo State Police Command have arrested five suspects in connection with the abduction and murder of two students of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), whose disappearance had sparked outrage within the university community.
The victims, Abah John Friday, a 25-year-old student of the Department of Economics, and Okah Andrel Eloho, 19, from the Department of History and International Studies, were found dead three weeks after they were declared missing.
Among the arrested suspects is Oladele Femi, the landlord of one of the victims, whom police identified as the alleged mastermind behind the crime.
The state police commissioner, Adebowale Lawal, while addressing the media on Wednesday, July 16, described the incident as a premeditated and brutal crime.
Backstory
The two undergraduates had been missing since June 20, 2025, when fellow students noticed their prolonged absence from class. The alarm raised by their colleagues triggered a series of actions by the university’s Student Union Government (SUG), which engaged multiple security agencies, including the anti-kidnapping squad and the Scorpion Unit of the Nigerian Police Force in Akure, the Ondo state capital.
On Sunday, July 13, the police recovered the lifeless body of Okah in a forest near Ode-Ekiti, at the Ondo-Ekiti border.
Abah’s body remains missing but is believed to have been dumped in a river by one of the accomplices, still at large.
In a statement on Monday, July 14, the SUG President, Akeem Ologbon, described the incident as painful and devastating, assuring students that the union would ensure justice is pursued.
He stated that once the union became aware of the students’ disappearance, it responded swiftly and responsibly by promptly engaging the relevant security agencies to aid in their location.
“Specifically, we reached out to the anti-kidnapping squad in Akure, which has the mandate and expertise to handle such sensitive cases,” he said.
“In addition, we alerted all relevant security formations within the state. We can confirm that the newly appointed Commissioner of Police has been fully briefed on the situation and is taking the matter seriously,” the statement added.
How suspects were caught
While briefing journalists in Akure, the Commissioner of Police said detectives began an investigation after a petition was filed on June 24 by Emmanuel Peter, the elder brother of Abah John.
He noted that the investigation led police to Computer Village, Ikeja, where they recovered an iPhone 14 Pro Max belonging to one of the victims from a 38-year-old suspect, Abdul Mohammed Mubarak.
According to him, Mubarak explained that he bought the phone from Ojo Michael, who was later arrested in Aramoko-Ekiti, where the victims’ Lexus RX 350 vehicle was also recovered.
Under interrogation, Michael reportedly confessed to his role in the crime and implicated Oladele Femi, the landlord of Abah John, as the mastermind.
According to the police, Femi had recruited Michael and one Kola (currently at large) to rob and abduct the students.
Michael was also said to have admitted that during their captivity, ₦800,000 was transferred from the victims’ account.
The police stressed that he also confessed to raping Okah, after which both victims were killed when she recognised one of her attackers.
“Michael also admitted to raping the female victim. Upon recognising him and unmasking his identity, she was executed along with her friend to prevent them from exposing the perpetrators.
”Their bodies were subsequently disposed of at separate locations between Agbado and Ode-Ekiti.
“Further investigation led to the arrest of Oladele Femi, who, during confrontation, confessed to initiating the plot and aiding in the concealment of the murders,” the commissioner said.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M