The Edo State Police Command has launched an investigation into the mysterious death of a senior lecturer at Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Dr Matthew Uwuigbe, who was found dead inside a hotel room in Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of the state.
Uwuigbe, a lecturer in the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, reportedly died on Monday, October 5, 2026, at a hotel in the Mosco area of Ekpoma.
The circumstances surrounding his death have raised concerns, with the police arresting and detaining the hotel owner, manager and a 21-year-old woman who was reportedly with the lecturer shortly before he was found lifeless.
The spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, ASP Eno Ikoedem, confirmed the incident, saying the command received a report at about 8pm on Monday that the lecturer had lodged at the hotel and engaged the services of the woman, identified as Angela Defa Jacob.
According to the police, Uwuigbe later asked the woman to leave the room to purchase water for him.
However, upon her return, she reportedly found the lecturer lying lifeless inside the room and raised an alarm, prompting the matter to be reported to the police.
“The woman returned to the room and discovered Uwuigbe lying lifeless, prompting the report to the police,” Ikoedem said.
The police spokesperson explained that the arrests were made as part of efforts to establish what transpired before the lecturer’s death.
She stressed that the circumstances surrounding the incident remained under investigation and that no conclusion had been reached regarding the cause of death.
Ikoedem also disclosed that the deceased’s remains had been deposited at the Oriaifo Memorial Hospital Mortuary for preservation pending the outcome of the investigation.
The incident has also attracted attention within the AAU community, with the university confirming that Uwuigbe was a member of its academic staff.
However, the institution distanced itself from the circumstances surrounding his death, noting that the incident occurred outside the university and was unrelated to its official activities.
The university spokesperson, Otunba Aladenika, said the woman reportedly found with the lecturer was not a student of the institution.
“We are not denying that he is our staff, but whatever he did and what happened, it is his private life. The girl in question is not our student, and everything happened outside our institution,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police investigation is ongoing as authorities work to determine what happened in the lecturer’s final moments and establish the circumstances surrounding his death.
