One of the men convicted in the widely
reported case of the ritual murder of an 11-
year-old boy in 1996 in Owerri, Imo State,
has reportedly been hanged.

Chief Vincent Duru, one of the men convicted in the
celebrated case of the ritual murder of an 11-year-old
boy, Ikechukwu Okoronkwo, on September 19, 1996 in
Owerri, Imo State, has reportedly been hanged.


His sentence said to have been carried out on Sunday,
November 13, 2016, is coming 13 years after his 2003
conviction.

To refresh memories on the case, which became
popularly known as the ‘Otokoto murder’ at the time,
here are 20 things to know:

1. The victim, Okoronkwo, a groundnut seller, was lured
into a highbrow hotel called Otokoko in Owerri and
beheaded.

2. Okoronko was reportedly given a bottle of Coca-Cola
that had been spiked with drug before he was killed.

3. The hotel was owned by Chief Vincent Duru, who
became known as Chief Otokoto during the lengthy trial
that followed his arrest.

4. Apart from being beheaded, the culprits reportedly
removed different other organs from his body including
his genitals before burying the corpse in a shallow grave.

5. The crime was discovered when 32-year-old Innocent
Ekeanyanwu, who beheaded the boy left the hotel to
deliver the head in a polythene bag to a client. An okada
rider, who gave him a ride discovered the fresh human
head and alerted the police later. Ekeanyanwu was
intercepted by the police on his way back.

6. When the news of the boys’ murder broke, for many
days, angry residents of Owerri trooped to the streets in
what became known as the Otokoto Riots. Houses,
hotels, supermarkets, and vehicles suspected to belong
to the suspects and those suspected to belong to
fraudsters or people of shady characters were burnt.

7. Ekeanyanwu was to deliver the boy’s head to an
influential figure, Chief Leonard Unaogu at Eziama in
Ikeduru Local Council Area of the state but Unaogu had
reportedly travelled. He was said to have had no choice
but to take the boy’s head to Owerri.

8. A popular photograph showing Ekeanyanwu holding
the victim’s head was later released to the media,
sparking the anger of Owerri residents.

9. In the ensuing riots, the residents burnt down Duru’s
Otokoto Hotel and houses. They also destroyed the cars
and a petrol station belonging to Eze Onu Egwu Nwoke.
The homes of some government officials were not
spared.

10. Just three days after his arrest, Ekeanyanwu was
found dead in police custody. He was suspected to have
been poisoned but the police released a statement to
deny any foul play.

11. Three police officers were sentenced to death by
hanging by an Owerri High Court in 2002 for their roles
in the death of Ekeanyanwu, who was supposed to be the
principal witness in the case.

12. Before his death, Ekeanyanwu had confessed that
Unaogu was the brains behind the ritual killing syndicate
he worked for.

13. Policemen who later searched the premises of
Otokoto Hotel reportedly exhumed some bodies of
people suspected to be victims of the syndicate.

14. When Unaogu was arrested, he denied knowing
Ekeanyanwu, who was a gardener at the Otokoto Hotel
during the time of the crime. Duru was also arrested and
both he and Unaogu denied knowing each other during
their trial, a claim rejected by the judge. Five others were
arrested in connection with the case.

15. Trial of the suspects started on December 9, 1996.

16. Nwosu-Iheme sentenced all the seven suspects
including Unaogu and Duru to death.

17. Unaogu would later die at the Port Harcourt Prisons
in mysterious circumstances.

18. Duru, a native of Umudim Community in Ikeduru
Local Government Area, of Imo State, appealed his
conviction but the sentence was upheld by the Appeal
Court.

19. During the Otokoto trial, Duru’s son, Obicheozor ,
was arrested in connection with a kidnapping case
allegedly carried out by a gang he belonged to, Black
Scorpions. In 1997, Obicheozor was executed by firing
squad along with six others.

20. One of the convicted, Ebenezer Egwueke, would later
appeal his conviction too and eventually found to be
innocent. He was freed after 16 years in prison. By the
time he was out in 2013, he was 62 years old.

Credits: The Punch

After 16years

I remember this case back then. The military government (under Abacha) then had no mercy for killers, it's firing squad. I could recall when I went to witness one of such executions, it was really horrible

After 16years without compensation or with compensation? at OP

@op, next time try to add the popular picture u mentioned. A picture say a thousand words.

A Lot has happened that made otokoto case a child's play.

Lalasticlala & mynd44 we need u here