Police in Nigeria have arrested three people as investigations continue into the death of a senior lecturer at Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, who was found dead in a hotel room in Edo State.
The deceased, identified as Matthew Uwuigbe, reportedly died on October 5 at a hotel in the Mosco area of Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area, under circumstances that remain unclear.
The incident has attracted public attention, with detectives working to reconstruct the lecturer’s final hours and establish the circumstances surrounding his death.
According to the police account, Uwuigbe had checked into the hotel before engaging the services of a 21-year-old woman identified as Angela Jacob. Investigators are examining the events surrounding their interaction as part of the wider inquiry.
Police spokesperson Ikoedem said the command received information about the incident at approximately 8 p.m. on October 5.
Preliminary information indicates that Uwuigbe was in the hotel room when he reportedly asked Jacob to leave briefly and purchase water for him.
However, upon returning, she allegedly discovered that the lecturer was dead.
“When she returned, she found him lying dead in the room,” the police spokesperson said.
The discovery prompted police intervention, with detectives beginning inquiries into the events that preceded the death. Authorities have reportedly taken three people into custody as they seek to establish what happened inside the room.
Uwuigbe’s body was subsequently transferred to the mortuary at Oriaifo Memorial Hospital for further procedures as investigations continue.
Police have not publicly established the cause of death, and there is no confirmed evidence that the encounter with the woman caused his death. Investigators are expected to rely on further inquiries and medical findings to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Ambrose Alli University has confirmed that Uwuigbe was a member of its academic staff but has distanced the institution from the incident, stressing that it occurred outside university premises and was unrelated to official university activities.
University spokesperson Mike Aladenika told PM News that the institution was not disputing the lecturer’s employment but maintained that the events took place in his private life.
“We are not denying that he is our staff, but whatever he did and what happened, it is his private life,” Aladenika said.
The university also clarified that Jacob, the woman identified in reports about the incident, was not a student at the institution.
“The girl in question is not our student, and everything happened outside our institution,” Aladenika added.
The clarification comes amid public interest in the case because of the lecturer’s academic position and the circumstances in which he was reportedly found dead.
Investigators are now expected to establish the sequence of events leading to the discovery, examine the circumstances of the lecturer’s stay at the hotel and determine whether any criminal conduct was involved.
For now, the death remains under investigation, and the arrest of three people does not in itself establish guilt. Police have yet to publicly disclose the final findings or the medical cause of death.
Authorities are expected to provide further details as the investigation progresses.