The Anambra State Police Command has arrested four suspects, including a 21-year-old woman, Chinyere Ekwenugo, in connection with the murder of a 74-year-old wheelchair user in Ifitedenu.
Ekwenugo was identified as the girlfriend of the prime suspect, Ifeanyi Igwe, who remains at large. Three other suspects, Uzochukwu Okeke (47), Fidel Anayo (60), and Ikenna Anene (54), all from Abagana, were also detained for their alleged involvement in the crime.
State police spokesperson SP Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the arrests on Sunday, revealing that the incident occurred around 9:00 a.m. Police operatives from the Abagana Divisional Headquarters recovered the victim’s charred remains, a wheelchair, and a casket from the crime scene.
Ikenga disclosed that the suspects had confessed to the crime during interrogation. “Chinyere Ekwenugo confessed that her boyfriend, Ifeanyi Igwe, along with three others, set the victim ablaze. They had brought a casket to bury her before police intervened,” he stated.
The victim’s body has been deposited in a morgue for autopsy, while efforts to apprehend Igwe are ongoing. The Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Itam, has urged calm and directed the immediate transfer of the case to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department for a thorough investigation.
Police Arrest Cultist in Abagana, Recover Ammunition
In a separate operation, police operatives from the Anti-Cult Unit in Enugwu Ukwu arrested a 25-year-old man, Maduka Okoye, in Abagana on Saturday around 1:30 p.m. Acting on credible intelligence, officers recovered three spent cartridges from a pump-action gun at the Ezichike community shooting scene.
Ikenga stated that Okoye, a member of the Baggars Confraternity, confessed to being attacked by members of the Axe Men Confraternity while drinking at a beer parlour.
“The police’s swift intervention likely averted a potential cult clash in the area,” Ikenga said, adding that the suspect is cooperating with investigators to track down fleeing gang members and other rival cult members involved in the incident.
The police assured residents that calm has been restored to the community as investigations continue.
