THE Benue State Police Command said it had launched an investigation into the death of Emmanuella Ahenjir, a student of Federal University, Wukari, who was reportedly killed by police officers in the state.
The student was said to have died from a gunshot wound at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital on Friday, May 16, 2025.
According to a statement by the state police command, shared by the Force Complaint Unit on Saturday May 17, the incident began around 4 am when a police patrol team at Duku Park, Wurukum flagged down a vehicle coming from the Benuelinks area.
The command noted that the driver of the vehicle allegedly refused to stop, made a sudden turn, and drove on the opposite lane while firing sporadically at the officers.
The police claimed they responded by firing a shot before the vehicle sped off.
The statement added that officers pursued the vehicle but lost track until around 10 am, when they received information that a young woman identified as Emmanuella Ahenjir had died at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital from a gunshot wound.
“Upon arrival at the hospital, the detectives were briefed about the deceased and corpses deposited at the hospital morgue for autopsy. One Apase Keghter who was also an occupant of the vehicle was seen at the hospital and invited for questioning.
“Mr. Apase statated that they had gone for club activities at Newcastle Event Centre and were on their way back when they drove on the opposite lane and passed the check point without stoping but did not shoot. They were shot by the police but they drove to Welfare Quarters with the victim. They stopped when they noticed a flat tyre and called a commercial vehicle that took them to the hospital.
“His belongings, the exhibit car and other occupants of the said vehicle are nowhere to be found at the moment,” the statement added.
The ICIR reports that the incident, which sparked a wave of outrage on social media, was revealed earlier today, Saturday, by an artiste, Llona, who performed at the club event that Ahenjir attended.
While announcing his grief on X, the artiste expressed his frustration over the incident, describing it as ‘heartbreaking.’
“I can’t lie, this has deeply gotten to me. She came out to have a good time and didn’t make it home. This is the fear we still live with in 2025?.
“The same people meant to protect us are the ones we keep avoiding? This is heartbreaking. nobody deserves this. Her family doesn’t deserve this pain. Emmanuella didn’t deserve this end. We need to identify who did this. There has to be accountability,” Llona stated.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M