The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has refuted a police report that Emmanuel Gambo, recently arrested in connection with the murder of Deborah Sam-Praise Ememem, is a student of the institution.
 
According to the university, the report identifying the suspect as a student of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at the institution was false and misleading.
 
The police, had, in a statement by the Spokesperson for the Enugu State Command, Daniel Ndukwe, announced the arrest of Gambo for the murder of Deborah as a student of the university.
 
The statement mentioned the suspect as a 200 level student of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. But faulting the report in a statement, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the institution, Inya Agha Egwu, said the suspect is not a student of the school.  
 
“We wish to categorically state that this claim is false and misleading.
 
“We have thoroughly investigated and cross-checked students’ records from 200 level to 500 level within the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, as well as verified with the Faculty of Engineering office. No such name as Emmanuel Gambo exists in the database of registered students in the department or faculty,” he said.
 
He added: “The university views this false association of a murder suspect as a gross misrepresentation and defamation of the integrity of not only the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering but also the entire Faculty of Engineering and the institution as a whole.
 
“We urge media outlets, bloggers, and the public to refrain from further spreading this unfounded information.   “The University of Nigeria remains committed to academic excellence, discipline, and the moral upbringing of its students, and will not tolerate any attempt to tarnish its image through misinformation. “
 
However, an outcry arose after the discovery of the mangled body of 22-year-old Deborah at a hotel in Obukpa -Nsukka where she was allegedly killed.
 
Reports from the police indicated that she checked into the hotel the night before at about 9.00 p.m. with the suspect (Emmanuel Gambo) but was murdered in the early hours of the next day following a dispute over having a second round of intercourse.
 
The police stated that the suspect had wrapped the deceased’s body in a towel and a curtain torn from the hotel room, hiding it under the bed. The suspect provided a false name and unreachable phone number on the hotel’s registration form, initially hindering efforts to trace and arrest him.