Two men remanded in custody charged with murdering student

Two men have been remanded in custody charged with murdering a student who was stabbed in the street after an incident which started on a university campus.

Ogechi Eke and Melvin Lebaga-Idubor, both aged 19 and from London, appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with murdering Kwabena Osei-Poku.

The 19-year-old victim, originally from Peterborough, died at the scene after being stabbed in New South Bridge Road, Northampton, at about 8.40pm on Sunday April 23.

The vice chancellor of the University of Northampton said staff and students have been left heartbroken at the advertising and digital marketing student’s “senseless” death.

In a statement confirming that three men and a woman have been charged with offences connected to the death, police said Eke and Lebaga-Idubor had been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon.

Lebaga-Idubor, of Ice House Court, Abbey Road, Barking, and Eke, of Brimsdown Avenue, Enfield, were both remanded in custody by magistrates to appear at Northampton Crown Court next Tuesday.

Antonio Huian, 18, of Royal Terrace, Northampton, and Zhanae Forbes-Coleman, 19, of Kendal Gardens, Edmonton, north London, are both charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Huian and Forbes-Coleman were denied bail by magistrates and ordered to appear before a Crown Court judge on June 12.

The senior investigating officer in the inquiry, Detective Inspector Simon Barnes, said: “It has been a real team effort from across the region to secure these charges, with police officers and staff working around the clock, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work.

“Specially trained officers continue to support Kwabena’s family, and mine and the team’s thoughts remain with them, and with Kwabena’s friends, at this time.”

Neighbourhood policing officers continue to carry out extra patrols in the New South Bridge Road area of Northampton to offer reassurance to the local community.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, University of Northampton vice chancellor Anne-Marie Kilday said: “We are heartbroken at the senseless death of Kwabena Osei-Poku.

“I have heard from Kwabena’s advertising and digital marketing foundation tutors, who tell me he was working on a project investigating the growth of technological tools used in marketing, and was on the route to succeed in his studies.

“His fellow students and all staff at the University of Northampton are devastated by this news and once again extend our deepest sympathies to his friends, family and all those who knew him.

“We will now focus on support for the university community as we try to deal with this tragic loss of life.”