Police arrest two over killing of 17-year-old UTME candidate in Lagos
Lagos Police Arrest Two Suspects in Kidnap and Murder Case
LAGOS—The Lagos State Police Command has detained two individuals suspected of kidnapping and murdering 17-year-old Thompson Adams, a candidate for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Police Commissioner Fatai Tijani announced the arrests during a press briefing on Wednesday at the command headquarters in Ikeja. The suspects, identified as Elijah Emmanuel, 23, and Tony Ogenata, 21, were apprehended on April 27 at approximately 8:00 p.m. in the Ikorodu area, following credible intelligence.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Adams, who completed his exam on April 22, was allegedly lured to the suspects’ residence by former schoolmates. “Operatives of the command traced and arrested the suspects based on reliable information. Our findings reveal that they went out with Adams and subsequently murdered him,” Tijani stated.
Authorities reported that the suspects concealed Adams’s body in a bag before disposing of it within the community. Further questioning revealed their suspected involvement in a previous kidnapping case from November 2025, in which a female victim, identified as the girlfriend of one of the suspects, was also kidnapped and killed. In that incident, the suspects reportedly demanded and received a ransom of N300,000 but still proceeded to murder her.
Commissioner Tijani confirmed that the suspects would face charges in court upon the completion of the ongoing investigation.
