SAHARA REPORTERS
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.
The police identified Ekwenugo as the girlfriend of Ifeanyi Igwe, the primary suspect who is currently on the run.
Three other suspects, Uzochukwu Okeke (47), Fidel Anayo (60), and Ikenna Anene (54), all from Abagana, were apprehended for their involvement in the crime.
SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the state police spokesperson, confirmed the arrests on Sunday, noting that the incident occurred at approximately 9:00 a.m. that day.
Operatives from the Abagana Divisional Police Headquarters recovered the victim’s charred remains, a wheelchair, and a casket from the crime scene.
Ikenga said that the suspects have confessed to the crime.
“Our operatives acted swiftly to apprehend the suspects and secure evidence. Investigations are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing prime suspect,” he stated.
“During interrogation by the police operatives, the suspect, Chinenye Ekwenugo confessed that her boyfriend, Ifeanyi Igwe, who is currently at large and three others set the victim ablaze.
“They brought a casket to bury her before the intervention of the security operatives,” he said.
He said that the police had also initiated move to arrest the main suspect Igwe, who is currently on the run.
Ikenga said the body of the deceased has been deposited in the morgue for autopsy and further probe of the cause of death.
The Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Itam, has called for calm following a recent incident and has directed the immediate transfer of the case to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department for thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, Ikenga revealed that operatives from the command’s Anti-Cult Unit in Enugwu Ukwu arrested a 25-year-old man, Maduka Okoye, from the Abagana area, on Saturday at about 1:30 p.m., acting on credible information.
During the operation, police recovered three spent cartridges from a pump-action gun at a shooting scene in the Ezichike community of Abagana.
The suspect reportedly confessed to being a member of the Baggars Confraternity. He claimed, “I was in a beer parlour drinking with my friend when members of the Axe Men Confraternity attacked us.”
“The timely intervention of the police likely averted a potential cult clash in the area. The police have since restored calm in the community.
“The suspect is currently cooperating with investigators, assisting in efforts to track down fleeing gang members and other identified members of the rival cult group involved in the shooting,” he said.
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