It was on Tuesday that chaos broke out over the residents of the metropolitan city of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State when the report of the rape and murder of Ugochukwu Nworie broke out.
According to sources and residents in the area, the incident happened in the late hours of Monday, when the 26-year-old girl arrived at the Hope Inn Hotel in the company of a few young men. The unlucky girl was later discovered deceased in a room after residents opened the door. Confirming the incident, the Ebonyi State Police Command similarly disclosed that she was discovered with her legs, hand, and mouth bound and tied up.
Speaking on behalf of the state, Mrs. Loveth Odah, Police Public Relations Officer, shed light on the incident.
She said: “The DPO said that the incident passed off while on an everyday check on the hotel. A room no longer accounted for was discovered. So, the DPO decided to enquire from the receptionist, who indicated that the guests in the room had been unknown to him.
“Efforts to open the room proved abortive until he requested a spare key to open the door, only to discover the lifeless physique of the lady, naked and her legs, fingers, and mouth tied to the mattress in the room. Preliminary investigation indicated that the woman was gang-raped, as more than 12 used condoms had been littered in the room.”
She additionally said that the State Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba had directed a thorough investigation into the incident, stating that efforts were made to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of such a heinous crime.
“Investigation is nonetheless ongoing and we will proceed to revamp the media and the public as we unravel additional details.”
As of the time of writing, the case is nonetheless cold and the corpse of the woman has been interred in a morgue.