General News of Sunday, 3 September 2006

Source: GNA

Nigerian student stabbed to death by suspected armed robber at KNUST

Kumasi, Sept. 3, GNA -- A 22-year-old Nigerian student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi met his untimely death on Thursday when he was stabbed by a suspected armed robber in an attempt to cause his arrest with the help of a colleague. The body of Ukpong Udoo Unnungude, a second-year social science student, has since been deposited at the KNUST hospital mortuary pending autopsy.

Captain M.B. Bedzrah (rtd), Deputy Head of Security at KNUST, who spoke to the GNA, said the incidence occurred on the night of Thursday, August 31 when there was a power outage on the campus due to the current load shedding.

The 19-year-old suspect, Agyemang Duah from Kentinkrono, one of the peripheral communities of KNUST, who was said to have taken advantage of the total darkness sneaked into a room in the GUSS hostel, popularly known as 'Brunei' and managed to steal a DVD player and three table top speakers which, he hid in a school haversack.

He said luck however, run out on Duah when he met Daraemo Udofia, the occupant of the room just at the time he was coming out, Udofia suspecting something sinister and gripped with fear, raised an alarm for help.

Capt Bedzrah said one Ikena Muogoli also a resident of the hall was the first to emerge from his room in response to the 93SOS=94 call and the pair gave the suspect a hot chase, compelling him to drop the haversack which contained the booty, but he stopped running and drew two jack knives and immediately stabbed the deceased killing him instantly.

Muogoli, the second-year chemical engineering student, who assisted his colleague to arrest the suspect, was also not spared as he sustained deep knife wounds when suspect stabbed him. He has since been treated and discharged at the KNUST hospital.

Security men at post then got the information and chased suspect till he was arrested in an uncompleted building near the hall and had been handed over to the KNUST police. He was later transferred to the Zongo police station where investigations are ongoing.

Meanwhile, a deployment of Buffalo Unit of the Ashanti Regional Police has been sent to KNUST campus to bolster security. In an apparent reaction to the incident, Nigerian students on Friday went on rampage on campus, blocked the access road in front of the administration block and smashed windscreens of vehicles. Calm has, however, been restored by the security personnel.