Suspect confesses to raping, beheading Imo nursing student

Suspect confesses to raping, beheading Imo nursing student

OWERRI, Nigeria – A wave of shock, outrage, and grief has engulfed the Umulogho community in Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State following the brutal rape and murder of Wendy Achumba, a student of the College of Nursing, Umulogho.

The 22-year-old nursing student was found dead in her off-campus apartment on the evening of Thursday, May 21, 2026, with her head severed from her body.

In a dramatic turn of events, youths of Umuadara, Umulogho, acting on a thorough community-led investigation, have arrested one of the suspected killers.

The suspect, identified as Onyema Okonkwo, a local vulcanizer, has since confessed to the crime in a chilling video interview that has gone viral across social media platforms.

In his viral video confession, Okonkwo detailed the horrifying sequence of events that led to Achumba’s death.

He stated that he and another suspect, identified only as Emmanuel, stormed the student’s apartment around 7 p.m. after she repeatedly rejected their sexual advances.

“We wanted her to give us sex. She refused. We went to her house around 7 p.m,” Okonkwo confessed in the video.

He admitted to raping the victim twice, while Emmanuel raped her once. “I had sex with her two times, Emmanuel had once,” he claimed.

According to Okonkwo, he struck the victim with a stick after the sexual assault. However, he alleged that he was not aware that Emmanuel intended to kill her.

“After that, I hit her with a stick. I didn’t know Emmanuel returned with a knife to kill her,” Okonkwo claimed.

Other sources indicated that the suspect allegedly confessed during interrogation that the attackers decided to kill the student after she reportedly identified them.

The assailants then slit her throat and beheaded her in an attempt to conceal their identities and escape arrest.

The victim, Wendy Achumba, hailed from Ngwa in Abia State. She had reportedly completed her Midwifery programme and was undergoing Post-Basic training at the College of Nursing, Obowo, at the time of her death.

A community source revealed that Achumba was particularly vulnerable because she was living alone in the building at the time of the attack.

“She was the only one in the house. The owner of the house is based in America. There were three students occupying the house. But two went for their nursing experience, leaving only her in the compound,” the source explained.

This isolation, according to neighbours, made her an easy target for the assailants, who allegedly had been making unwanted advances towards her for some time before the attack.

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The tragic incident came to light on the evening of Thursday, May 21, 2026, when neighbours became concerned after Achumba neither came out of her room nor responded to repeated calls and knocks on her door.

When neighbours eventually forced the door open, they found her lifeless body lying in a pool of blood with her head severed from her neck.

The room was reportedly still locked from the inside with the key, while the victim’s mobile phone was found to be missing.

One neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the scene as “unimaginably horrifying. We have never seen anything like this in our community. We are all still in shock.”

The body was later recovered by police operatives and deposited at a nearby morgue for autopsy.

Following the discovery of the body, youths of Umuadara, Umulogho, led by their leader, Chidiebere Iweajunwa, launched a thorough investigation into the incident.

Their efforts paid off when they successfully apprehended Onyema Okonkwo, who later confessed to the crime. The suspect was subsequently handed over to the police for further interrogation and prosecution.

The community has been widely praised for its swift action, which many believe helped prevent the suspect from fleeing justice. “We could not sit back and watch. This is our community, and we must ensure that such evil does not go unpunished,” a community youth member said.

The Imo State Police Command has confirmed the incident and the arrest of the suspect.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Henry Okoye, issued a statement confirming that the Divisional Police Officer and operatives promptly visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.

“The Command is aware of the tragic incident involving the death of a female student of the College of Nursing, Umulogho, whose body was discovered in her private off-campus apartment,” Okoye’s statement read.

The police spokesperson noted that the command had arrested one suspect for preliminary questioning to assist ongoing investigations and has launched a manhunt for other suspected members of the gang, including the second suspect identified as Emmanuel.

“The Commissioner of Police has ordered a thorough and discreet investigation into the matter,” Okoye added. “We appeal to students and members of the public to remain calm as the situation is under control. Every effort is being made to ensure those behind this heinous act are brought to justice.”

 

Suspect confesses to raping, beheading Imo nursing student