AN alleged phone theft led to the murder of a dental student by his fellow classmates at the Sultan Abdurrahman College of Health Technology in Gwadabawa, Sokoto.
The victim, named Lukman, was a native of Kalambaina, a local government area in Sokoto state’s Wamakko Local Government Area.
Information gathered reveals that the student and his murderers were living in a rented apartment outside the school premises.
“His friends and fellow students accused him of stealing a phone belonging to another student,” the source said.
It added that they conspired with their friends who visited them from the city and forcefully dragged the victim out of his room.
“They tied him to an electric phone, poured cold water on him and continue torturing him in their bid to force him to confess to the crime.
“When he fainted, some of the students rushed him to Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching hospital and was confirmed death on arrival,” the source revealed.
It was said that the hospital’s management after recognizing him as a student instructed their internal security staff to prevent any of the students who brought him from escaping.
However, the management alerted the college administration and the police, who have detained the students for questioning.
the provost of the College, Nasir A. Musa, revealed over a telephone conversation that because both the victim and his murderers resided off-campus, he was not aware of the situation until UDUTH management informed him on Sunday morning.
“So I called one of our staff who went to the hospital. I equally informed the Divisional Police Officer of Gwadabawa who led his men to the scene of the incident and arrested some of the perpetrators.
“As I am talking to you, seven students linked to the crime have been arrested and the police are trailing others including their friends that came from the city who also took part in the torture.
“We have already dismissed some of the students involved to serve as deterrents to others. Because if we allow them go score free other students can do a similar thing in the future,” the provost said.
