Suspected cultists kill UBTH doctor, middle-aged man in Edo

HOMICIDE detectives from the Edo State Police Command have swung into action in a bid to unravel the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of a University of Benin (UBTH) medical doctor, Dr. Ogbeide.

A close source disclosed that Ogbeide, of the radiology department, was kidnapped and murdered by suspected cultists but the hospital authorities, however, explained that they were not aware of the kidnap.

Even then, there is no presently unease at the hospital following the murder as some workers who did not want their names in print insisted that suspected cultists have a hand in the deed.

Ogbeide was said to have returned to Benin from a trip last Saturday and was reported to have stood by the roadside in front of the hospital at suburban Ugbowo, where he was said to have been whisked away in a car by unknown men.

Speaking on his mobile phone, the Edo state police commissioner, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, confirmed the tragic incident.

“It is not a case of murder of kidnap. The doctor checked into a hotel on Saturday. He was not seen going out on Sunday not did anyone visits him, so, the door was forced open on Sunday.

“He was found lying face-down on the bed. The bedsheet was not even ruffled. There was also a bottle of soft drink in the room.

“There was no sign of struggle or anything on him. We are looking into a case of suicide or suffocation.

“We are waiting for the autopsy report from the hospital. and as a doctor, they are going to do a scan on the body, Odumosu said.

Also,  the hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joshua Uwaila, said he was not aware of the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death.

“I don’t have that information, that a doctor was kidnapped,” he said.

It would be recalled that the UBTH has lost several doctors to death in the recent past.

In another incident, an unidentified middle-aged man was reportedly shot dead last Sunday at Isiohor, a few meters away from the University of BENIN (UNIBEN) main gate.

Unconfirmed reports had it that the assailants who bore the hallmarks of cultists ambushed the victim who was returning home.

He was allegedly shot from behind and the bullets hit him on the back of his skull.