Ondo State Police Command has confirmed the death of two missing students from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Andrel Eloho Okah, 25, and John Friday Abba, 19, after weeks of intense search.

The victims, who had been missing for three weeks, were murdered under gruesome circumstances, with one body recovered and the other yet to be found.

The sudden disappearance of the 200-level undergraduates from the Department of History and International Studies (Faculty of Arts) and the Department of Economics (Faculty of Agriculture) sparked concern within the student community, particularly among course mates who suspected foul play.

Briefing newsmen on the matter at the Police Headquarters in Alagbaka, Akure, the Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, stated that the crime was premeditated, stemming from a personal dispute between the prime suspect, Oladele Femi, popularly known as ‘Tallest’, who was the landlord of the male victim, Okah.

Lawal revealed that two other suspects were arrested in connection with the gruesome act, and the remains of the female student was discovered in a border community between Ondo and Ekiti states, with detectives still combing the area to locate the remains of the male victim.

The CP alleged that the female victim was raped before being killed by the suspects, who also stole Okah’s iPhone and his Lexus RX 350 after committing the heinous crime.

He said: “Upon receipt of the complaint, detectives from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit swung into action. Forensic tracking led investigators to Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos, where an iPhone 14 Pro Max belonging to one of the victims was recovered from Abdul Mohammed Mubarak, 38.

“Mubarak confessed to purchasing the phone from Ojo Michael, whose arrest was subsequently made in Aramoko-Ekiti. A Lexus RX 350 vehicle belonging to the victims was also recovered at the time of arrest.”

The Guardian gathered that Michael confessed to participating in the robbery, abduction and eventual murder of the victims. The police added: “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. Acting on this confession, detectives recovered the body of the female victim in a bush near Ode-Ekiti, which has since been deposited at the General Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.

“The principal suspect had an altercation due to a misunderstanding with John Friday Abba and engaged the services of some people to deal with him. I want to use the word that he used ‘to treat his mess up’.”