The Edo State Police Command has named Alexander Omogiate as the student slain in a shooting near the University of Benin gate, while the university distances itself from the violent incident tied to suspected cult activity.
Omogiate was reportedly shot dead by masked gunmen on Sunday evening as he drove out of the university’s main gate in Ugbowo in a Mercedes-Benz GLK.
According to eyewitnesses, the attackers intercepted the vehicle, opened fire at close range, and then escaped.
The deceased was claimed to have finished his examination in the Department of Political Science around an hour before being attacked.
Three other people in the vehicle sustained gunshot injuries, while a female passerby was also hit by a stray bullet during the incident.
One of the students at the scene said, “They shot him at close range, and there was no way he could have survived the attack. Two others in the vehicle were also injured and rushed to the hospital.”
Operatives from the Ugbowo Divisional Police Headquarters later removed the victim’s body from the scene.
CSP Eno Ikoedem, the spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, confirmed the event in a statement on Monday, saying the attack took place about 5 p.m. on May 10, 2026.
According to early findings, the victims—Onwuke Blessed, Alexander Omogiate, and Chinenye Christian Mbagwu—were driving out of the campus when another white GLK car stopped them at the UNIBEN main gate.
“The occupants of the vehicle lowered the glass and opened fire on the victims before escaping to an unknown destination,” the statement said.
According to the authorities, all of the vehicle’s occupants were injured to varied degrees, and a female onlooker named Dorathy Ubah was also hit by a bullet.
The victims were sent to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital for treatment, and Omogiate was later pronounced dead.
On Monday, Agbonika, the state commissioner of police, ordered a thorough inquiry into the incident and directed operatives to find those responsible.
The command urged members of the public with helpful information to aid the investigation to call their nearest police station or the command’s emergency lines.
Meanwhile, tensions on campus had reportedly risen the day before the assassination after another student narrowly averted an attack near the Social Science Lecture Theatre.
The student was allegedly chased by suspected hoodlums with machetes on Saturday and later suffered a bleeding nose during a battle filmed in a viral video circulating online.
In response to the Sunday homicide, the University of Benin’s administration distanced itself from the incident, claiming that it took place off of campus and did not involve university students.
According to the institution’s public relations officer, Benedicta Ehanire, the incident was the result of alleged cult activities.
“The University of Benin has dissociated its staff and students from the violent clash outside the Ugbowo campus of the institution,” the statement read.
“Preliminary reports indicate that the incident is a fallout of cult activities outside the campus and does not involve any university staff member or student.”
The university’s administration expressed regret for the fatality and asked staff and students to continue their academic activities calmly.
In a similar event, Venerable Egbenusi Osazee David, Chairman of the university’s Cult Renunciation, Reconciliation, Rehabilitation, and Interfaith Committee, has resigned due to the incident.
In a resignation letter dated May 10 addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Edoba Omoregie (SAN), Egbenusi claimed that the VC threatened him after sharing video footage of the violence with him.
According to the priest, he forwarded footage of suspected cult activity and the deadly shooting to the vice chancellor for campus security.
He stated that the VC reacted furiously and requested that the films be removed.
“I wish to state plainly that I have retained the clips and will continue to do so. A human life was lost, and any investigative process requires that evidence be preserved, not destroyed,” he stated.
However, the university’s administration condemned the claims as “spurious and unguided.”
In a counter-statement made on Monday, the institution accused Egbenusi of operating in bad faith and called his resignation letter foolish.
The management affirmed the VC’s unwavering commitment to repositioning the university, undeterred by controversy.
The university also expressed relief at Egbenusi’s resignation, claiming that he had not performed successfully in his job as chairman of the anti-cultism commission.
It also reassured students and stakeholders that all campuses of the institution remained quiet and safe.
