By EBEN ENASCO

Fresh details have emerged surrounding the killing of a 200-level undergraduate of the University of Benin at the institution’s main gate on Sunday evening.

Police authorities in Benin City are currently investigating the incident, which occurred shortly after the deceased reportedly completed his semester examinations.

The victim, identified as Alexander Omogiate, a 200-level Political Science student, was allegedly shot multiple times at close range while seated in his Mercedes-Benz vehicle near the university’s main entrance by masked gunmen.

Three other occupants of the vehicle — identified as Onwuke Blessed, Chinenye Christian Mbagwu, and Dorothy Ubah — were reportedly struck by stray bullets and rushed to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Dorothy Ubah was later confirmed dead on Monday from injuries sustained during the attack.

Sources further disclosed that a second victim, said to be Omogiate’s girlfriend, was also killed in a separate attack along Airport Road by suspected members of the same gang a few hours after the shooting at the university gate.

The assailants were also alleged to have killed another unidentified person in the Uselu area of Benin City.

Although the Edo State Police Command has yet to officially confirm the motive behind the killings, unverified reports linked the incident to a dispute over an alleged N90 million internet fraud deal.

A source, who spoke anonymously, alleged that tensions had been building for weeks before the incident, claiming that one of the suspected assailants had earlier confronted the deceased on campus over the sharing of the money.

According to the source, the matter was initially resolved after Omogiate allegedly agreed to settle those involved. However, the agreement reportedly broke down after he later declined to fulfil the arrangement, escalating tensions among the parties.

The disagreement was said to have degenerated into violent confrontations on campus, with dangerous weapons including machetes allegedly used during clashes that left some persons injured.

On Sunday, said to be the final day of examinations, the attackers allegedly trailed Omogiate from the examination hall to the university’s main gate, where they opened fire on his vehicle. Witnesses said the victim died on the spot while the gunmen reportedly fled the scene shooting sporadically into the air to scare residents and bystanders.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the university’s Anti-Cult Committee, Venerable Egbenusi, has reportedly resigned from his position over the incident.

In a statement made available to journalists, Egbenusi alleged that the institution’s Vice Chancellor pressured him to delete video clips showing events leading to the attack, including scenes of an alleged cutlass chase involving suspected cult members.

He claimed to have forwarded the footage to the Vice Chancellor hours before the killing and again after the incident occurred.

According to him, the Vice Chancellor subsequently demanded that the videos be deleted within five minutes and allegedly threatened to evict him from the Chapel Vicarage if he refused.

Egbenusi said he declined the request, insisting that the materials constituted critical evidence for investigation, describing the alleged directive as “an assault on the office of the University Chaplain.”

As of the time of filing this report, the management of the University of Benin and the Edo State Police Command had yet to officially respond to the allegations.