Youth leader arrested for murder after giving false testimony in church

By Christopher Oji

The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a church youth leader for the death of a married woman.

He was picked up in the church after giving a fake testimony about how he escaped a kidnap attempt to cover up the alleged murder of a woman who allegedly died during a sex-romp in a hotel room.

Investigations revealed that the woman, who was a married mother of three, had reconnected with a former classmate, Tuamene Nwibiagbor, while he was planning his wedding on April 27, 2024. The two had met and struck up a relationship back in 2010 when they were studying educational management at the Rivers State College of Education (now Ignatius Ajuru University of Education). After graduating in 2012, they had lost contact, but the chance meeting at Tuamene’s wedding led to them arranging a rendezvous on May 14, 2024.

On the agreed date, the two met at Rumuola junction and proceeded to a hotel in Rumuigbo, where Tuamene booked a room. It was in this room that the woman tragically passed away following an intimate encounter.

Suspecting foul play, the hotel staff alerted the police, who launched an investigation. Detectives traced the suspect, Tuamene, and waited for him to attend a Sunday service at the Methodist Church, Rumukalagbor, where he served as the Youth President. During the service, Tuamene took to the pulpit and gave a dramatic testimony, claiming that he had escaped a kidnap attempt on May 14, the same day of the crime, and that his phone had been stolen.

However, the police were not convinced by Tuamene’s story. As the service ended and the congregation congratulated him, the detectives arrested Tuamene.

Initially, Tuamene denied any involvement in the woman’s death, but when the police obtained a search warrant and discovered the sky-blue outfit and bag he had worn on the day of the incident, he confessed to being with the deceased. Tuamene claimed that the woman had begun sneezing and convulsing shortly after they had sex, and that he had fled the scene when he could not save her.

The Rivers State Police Commissioner, CP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, commended the officers of the Rivers State Police Command for their swift and professional handling of the case. He said that investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the woman’s death.