A hotel owner, his manager and a 21-year-old sex worker have been arrested and detained as the Edo State Police Command launches a full-scale investigation into the death of a lecturer at Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Dr Matthew Uwuigbe.
Dr Mathew Uwuigbe, a lecturer in the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, was reportedly found dead inside a hotel room in Ekpoma on Monday, October 5, 2026.
The Command’s spokesperson, ASP Eno Ikoedem, disclosed this while giving an update on efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the lecturer’s death.
The incident occurred in Ekpoma, the administrative headquarters of Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, with the police receiving a report at about 8am on Monday.
Confirming the incident, ASP Ikoedem said the hotel owner, manager and the 21-year-old sex worker had been taken into custody for questioning as investigators work to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death.
It was exclusively learnt that Dr Mathew Uwuigbe, believed to be in his 50s, had lodged at the hotel and engaged the services of the sex worker, whose name is being withheld.
The woman was reportedly sent out to buy water and, upon her return, allegedly found the lecturer lying lifeless inside the hotel room.
The police said the deceased’s remains had been deposited at a mortuary for preservation, while investigation into the incident continues.
Meanwhile, the university’s Public Relations Officer, Otunba Mike Ade Aladenika, confirmed that Dr Mathew Uwuigbe was a staff member of the institution but stressed that the incident occurred outside the university campus.
“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.
