Tragedy struck in Umuoli Ikpem in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State on Thursday after a 16-year-old Senior Secondary School Three pupil, Chibuzo Ohaneme, stabbed his female classmate, Olamma Ekwebelem, to death.
The tragedy, it was learnt, has attracted public outcry in the community.
A village source told our correspondent that Ohaneme was irked that Ekwebelem had repeatedly turned down his relationship proposal to her.
It was gathered that while the murderer hails from Umuohum Umuna in the Onuimo LGA of the state, the slain teenager, who was to sit for Senior Secondary Certificate Examination in June, hailed from Ikpem.
The source said, “The boy and the girl are classmates and of the same age. The boy had repeatedly asked her out but she refused.
“She reported the boy’s disturbances to her parents, who reprimanded him but he kept on disturbing the girl.
“Frustrated, the boy ambushed the girl and stabbed her to death. The community was about setting the boy’s father’s house ablaze when the police intervened.”
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the incident, stating that the suspect had been arrested.
He said “One Chibuzo Ohaneme of Umuohum Umuna, Onuimo LGA was arrested for the murder of his friend, Olamma Ekwebelem of Umuoli Ikpem.
“The suspect stabbed the victim in her stomach and she died. As I speak to you, the case file and the suspect have been transferred to State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Owerri, for further investigation.”