₦airaland Forum

nice thread.

gratiaeo: Nairaland is now free for all? No more banning for bigotry?
superstar1 we de observe

tell that to your tribal OP that was celebrating crime and linking it to yorubas.

no one has monopoly of google and megabytes.

you can open another thread for another crime.

stup1d he-goat. if crime is what you celebrate in your desolate region, we will help you celebrate it very well.

For every stup1d rubbish you post about us, we will reply with a minimum number of 10.

if you are determined not to learn to respect others, we too we are determined to ensure you respect others by force.

the game is on.

A High Court sitting in Owerri, the Imo state Capital yesterday, sentenced eight ( persons to death by hanging for their involvement in the brutal murder of one Nze Dominic Ohamadiaku Duru, an ex-Police officer from Izombe in Oguta Local Government Area of the state.
High Court 7, Owerri, presided over by Hon. Justice C.M.I. Egole found the accused persons guilty of murder, following an overwhelming evidence before it; even as it freed the ninth accused person-Sussana James Duru for having not actively participated in the dastardly act. The convicted persons, who were all found guilty of first degree murder are: James Ugwuoha Duru, Fester Nuforo, Alexander Nnadi (Alias Apollo), Friday Nuforo, Jonathan Chuddy Nnadi, Chifoanu Okorie, Mattias Ohazurike and Evans Egbujor.
Delivering the landmark judgement in suit number: HOW/4C/2007, the presiding Judge analysed all the evidence before it and found eight, out of the nine accused persons guilty of conspiracy and murder.
“You are to be hanged by your neck until you are drained of your life breath and you are dead and may God have mercy on your soul,” the judgement reads in part.
Investigations revealed that the freed Sussana James-Ugwuoha (wife of James Ugwuoha Duru) was linked to one of the murderers by marriage and although she is said to have accompanied her husband to the house of the deceased on the fateful day to lure him to the scene of the crime, she hadn't actively participated in the dastardly act.
The accused was therefore freed and allowed to return home. All the condemned criminals were led away in handcuffs to a waiting Black Maria by armed security officials and prison guards.
Making their last comments as they were being led out by security operatives, Festa Nuforo wailed, 'Nze Dominic was my father!; while James Ugwuoha contended in vain with his captors for a chance to shake his wife's hand, retorting that he already knew that he would never return home alive.
When given the chance by the trial judge to offer their famous last words or plead for leniency, the convicts took turns to eulogise the deceased, describing him as 'our father and benefactor'; but showed no remorse.
In his quiet side, Evans Egbujor rues with mounting trepidation the uncertainty that has enveloped his family, with his wife, Rose currently lying in a morgue; with her people (from Awa Community in Oguta LGA) insisting that Evans murdered their daughter (while out on bail) for ritual purposes and demanding that he (Evans) swears an oath or else, face withering repercussions. Rose lies unburied still: even as Evans contemplates his date with the hangman.
As the prisoners and captives filed out of the courtroom, hand-cuffs jangling, death-silence fell upon the courtroom.
Our correspondent who managed to sidle up to Jonathan Nnadi (Elder Joe, as he is fondly called, a staff of Imo Broadcasting Corporation, Owerri) had the following exchange with him: 'Elder Joe, you told the judge today that you are an only son? Is this claim true? What about Obumneke? We understand that he is your younger brother? Isn't it true that the man you murdered is not only an only son but also an only child?" before he could respond, his jailers shepherded him away.
The journey to the hangman started when the convicted persons conspired and murdered the deceased on the 3rd of March, 2005 following a protracted land matter and other sundry community issues.
According to available reports, the condemned persons had on the said day, lured the deceased to his farm land in a bush (Okpouzi) in the village where they laid siege for him and ended his life.
In an attempt to cover up their atrocity, the murderers earlier influenced the falsification of the autopsy conducted on the corpse of the deceased, alleging that he died of a natural cause. They had also touted a traditional story of the deceased being used for rituals; the diversionary steps never yielded fruits.
Following a Federal High Court ruling, the falsified autopsy was nullified and an independent autopsy ordered. The independent autopsy is said to have revealed the actual cause of the death of Nze Duru, having died as a result of “multiple homicidal injuries…”
The matter which lingered for seven years survived all intrigues adopted by the accused persons to either buy time or pervade justice.
Reacting to the judgement, first son of the deceased, Chief Emmanuel Duru described the ruling as victory for justice, even as he commended the Judiciary in the state for maintaining its status as the last hope of a common man.
He lamented the incessant killing of innocent people in the area and called on the government to take urgent steps to sanitize the area in the interest of the citizenry.
He however urged the people to flee from evil practices and turn to God for salvation.
A visit to Izombe community in Oguta LGA of Imo State, where the crime was committed revealed that while many jubilated over the landmark ruling, especially, in neighbouring villages where similar murder cases involving most of the same convicted persons remain unresolved, families of the condemned persons were in grief.
Speaking to our Correspondent, a leader of thought in Izombe, who spoke on the grounds of anonymity expressed gratitude to God for what he described as 'justice at last'.
“My brother, finally, justice has come. This is justice at last. Majority of the people who were condemned are from Amaudara village, where the murdered Nze Duru is from. Two of them are from my village, but I am happy. Those people, especially, Amaudara people are very heartless. That was how they killed Joe Nwanyiafor, an indigene of Amakpuruedere, a neighbouring village in cold blood. Till today, the matter was closed in the most unceremonious manner. These people are members of a notorious killer-gang. God has exposed them. That is not all. Some of the members of the killer squad are still at large. One day, God will also catch them with their sponsors.”
Investigations revealed that late Nze Dominic Duru is the seventh in the series of unresolved murder cases in Amaudara village. All the murder cases were committed in the bush in Amaudara, a small village in Obeabo Autonomous community of Izombe in Oguta LGA of Imo state.
Following Justice Egole's landmark judgement, there are strong indications that relatives and friends of victims of previous unresolved murder cases in the area may raise agitations for the resuscitation of the cases of the murder of their loved ones, since they have seen that justice is possible.
Meanwhile, youths of Imo State, under the aegis of Imo Youth Congress have hailed the Judgement, describing it as victory for all lovers of truth.
National President of the Body, Comrade Prosper Nwokocha who made their position known during a telephone interview with our Correspondent also called for a review of previous unresolved murder cases in the area.
It would be recalled that following the several cases of unresolved cold blooded murder in the area, an Owerri-based tabloid (Newspoint), in one of its 2005 publications described Izombe as Imo's Golgotha.
Amaudara, the tiny village in Obeabo, Izombe, in which every other thing seems to be in short supply except misery and pain, is no stranger to mysterious disappearances, and homicide: even of a fratricidal kind.
Anthony Ezema, a village thug was felled in a cult-related killing in Amaudara in 1983; next in line was Joseph 'Joe' Nwanyiafor, from the neighbouring Amakpuruedere village whose body is yet to be found till this day. Edward Ezema (elder brother to Anthony) was later to boast during a drunken-spree that 'the easiest way to make a body disappear, together with its bones is to have it interred in an anthill'. Edward, Anthony and the just condemned Matthias 'Hitler' Ohazuruike are brothers (of the same parents).
Then, there followed Augustina Cyril-Uzoma, a middle-aged woman who left her home early in the morning to harvest cassava, only to turn up two hours later in a body-bag. Then, Francis Onyejiekwe, a middle aged farmer followed suit: his fate similar to Augustina's. It was a bountiful harvest of death.
The 7th on the list of murdered persons, Nze Duru is the only case that has been prosecuted to a conclusive end; a development many see as commendable.
James Ugwuoha-Duru had lured Nze Ohamadiaku Duru, the Patriarch of the famed Durunaegbu dynasty to the farm where he was mercilessly massacred by a gang led by Alexander Nnadi and cohorts.
Reports have it that, that same day, an old woman from the oil-rich Ugbele village in Izombe broke into tears, while in between quipping 'Amaudara, you cursed village, you have seen the last of me...so, Evans, it was Nze Duru that was being referred to when you were stridently warned by our prophet that "this abomination you are hatching presently will consume you?"
After the dastard act of eliminating Nze Duru, they commenced a scheme of plundering the farmlands and agricultural produce of the aged wife of Nze Duru (an issue that is the subject of a civil suit in Oguta High Court at the moment).

A quiet revolution is now going on in Owerre Ebeiri community in Orlu local government area of Imo State . Chidi B. Uzomah, a lecturer in Imo State University , Owerri and the new Eze-elect for the community is kicking against ritual killings required by the tradition before he ascends the throne. Though it appears like a one-man riot squad, Uzomah is sure to win the battle.

Newswatch learnt that in the event of the death of the traditional ruler of the community; and the installation of a new one, about 34 human heads - 16 men, 16 women and a set of twins are usually sacrificed to appease the gods.

This, they claim, will enable the dead Eze have an easy passage and to be acceptable to the ancestors. The community has buried 10 Ezes in its life span and had performed the rituals. But Uzomah would not have any of it.

He claimed that God called him to cleanse the rotten system of the ancestors. He told Newswatch that God anointed him to liberate his people from the bondage of a barbaric culture. “That is why I left my job as dean in an American university where I was making $200,000 per year. When they were burying Ezealaeke, Eze Emenaha, his successor produced 34 human heads. That was the order then.”

In the community, only strangers are killed in the event of the death of the Eze. Before the advent of the whiteman, there existed a slave market which provided the bulk of humans for such sacrifices. After the destruction of the market by the British soldiers following the abolition of slave trade, village warriors were given the task of providing human heads from distant towns and villages. “These people are crying to God today for justice. That is the trouble Owerre Ebeiri is facing today. This evil committed has been haunting Owerre Ebeiri people. But God has called me to clean up all these rubbish,” Uzomah vowed.

That is not the only battle Uzomah has been waging in the community in the past two years. He refused to worship at the shrines and the temples of the ancestors. Instead, he brought about 10 pastors from the Overcomers Christian Mission, Owerri, to demolish some of the shrines. He said the shrines were used by his people to evoke sickness and unleash terror and mayhem on innocent people of the area. He claims to have also cast away the demons that inhabitate the Ofo, the symbol of the community, the Ikenga, and the Amadioha deities. This, he said, was to invoke the spirit of the dead to harm innocent citizens. He specifically mentioned a particular demon brought from Uli ( Anambra State ) by one of his grandfather’s wives. This demon, he said, has a shrine at the right side of the palace. Each time Uzomah visited home, the demon would battle with him because nobody sacrifices to it. “I have to go with the pastors and remove the shrine and cast away the demon. If you are not in the main line of the Ezeship, you may not know what is going on there.”

That was not all. Uzomah cited the killing of a promising young man by Ezealaeke for rituals. “The mother of the boy went to the village square where she protested naked. She cursed the entire village that nobody should go beyond the age of her son. Ever since then, nobody has started and completed a house. But after the liberation exercise, the difference is there,” he said. He told Newswatch that the rebellion against the ancestors had just begun.

He said Owerre Ebeiri people should wait and see what will happen when his father will be no more. “It is not my battle. It’s the Lord’s battle. The battle, he said started when he was seven years old. The story of Uzomah is very intriguing and revealing. In fact, Uzomah could pass as the proverbial cat with nine lives.

Two years ago, Uzomah had a bitter experience. That was after the day he besieged Owerre Ebeiri with 10 pastors from Owerri. After the liberation exercise, Uzomah was attacked spiritually. “I saw spiritual he-goats flying into my car and I fainted. He was later revived and taken to the church for prayers. The incident did not discourage Uzomah from the revolution he embarked upon.

Uzomah is the 12th crown prince. The traditional institution of Owerre Ebeiri is hereditary. Newswatch was told that those who tried to disrupt the inheritance system had met instant death. A story was told of one Okwara Orisakwe who tried to hijack the throne by claiming to be the head of the royal family. He even contested the Ezeship in the law court between 1980 and 1985 and lost. He later died mysteriously.

The lineage is strictly followed that when Eze Uzomah Nzeukwu died in 1936, the heir apparent , Benjamin Uzomah was only 12 years old. One Nwadike Okwara Ukoma, now late was nominated to represent Uzomah until he became of age. Ukoma was answering Uzomah until he was 24 years when the former stepped aside. Now (Benjamin) Uzomah is 78 years and blind. In order to maintain the lineage, Uzomah anointed Chidi two years ago. In an elaborate ceremony attended by many prominent sons of the town including representatives of Governor Achike Udenwa of Imo State and President Olusegun Obasanjo, the old man transferred the crown to (Chidi) Uzomah, as tradition demanded. “In the Bible King Saul was alive when David was anointed. Saul was old and inefficient that was why David was anointed. So also my father is old and blind, that is the reason for my anointing. My father actually took the crown off his head and placed on mine publicly. We have photographs and video tapes on the ceremony,” Uzomah stressed.

That was all Uzomah needed to launch his revolution against a tradition that thrives on human sacrifice. Ever since he started his rebellion against the ancestors Uzomah has attracted more enemies than friends. Uzomah has never known peace in the town. Many prominent sons of Owerre Ebeiri are bent on wrestling the crown from him. They accused him of desecrating and destroying the traditional institution of the community. Uzomah said these men have used all available means in a bid to eliminate him and take over the crown so that they could continue the atrocities of their ancestors. All efforts by the elders of the community to resolve the issue failed.

Prominent among the contenders was one Gilbert Nnabuife. Uzomah told Newswatch that Nnabuife used the death of his son to invite the dreaded Bakassi Boys of Aba to eliminate him (Uzomah). He alleged that Nnabuife paid Bakassi Boys N1.5 million to do the dirty job. The Bakassi Boys arrested him and four others, but instead of killing him, they demanded N100,000 for their release. They paid. He said he alerted the security agents about the threat to his life, but he was ignored.

Uzomah also mentioned one Hilary Mbachu, the parish priest of St. Martin ’s Catholic Church, Owerre Ebeiri, an indigene of the town as one of the people instigating the public against him with the aim of snatching the crown from him. Mbachu, he alleged, uses the altar of God as a platform to cause disunity among indigenes of the town. He also accused one Anslem Ikegkwuoha of inciting the traditional religion worshippers against his ascendance to the throne. Uzomah claimed that on the day of his inauguration as the 12th crown prince, Ikegwuoha and his supporters attempted to disrupt the ceremony, “but what happened to him later forced him to run away from the village. Many of them wanted to be Eze to continue the evil of their forefathers.”

All efforts to locate Ikegwuoha, Okwara and Nnabuife proved abortive as they were said to have travelled outside the state. However, when Newswatch later traced Mbachu to Saint Martin ’s Catholic Church, Tuesday, June 4, he declined comment insisting that he had to get clearance from the Bishop of Orlu Catholic dioceses.

Christian Amadi, Ishimbi of Owerre Ebeiri denied knowledge of such practice as killing during the burial or installation of Ezes in the community. The 86-year-old man also insisted that there was no where in the history of the town where such tradition was recorded. He accused Uzomah of bringing in such sentiments to make him relevant. “All we heard was that our people were very much involved in slave trade before the British soldiers invaded the Orie market and demolished it. Since then Owerre Ebeiri has been a Christian community,” he told Newswatch.

Uzomah’s father also told Newswatch that nobody has the right to destroy the deities or any traditional practice established by the ancestors. He maintained that the destruction of such traditions would amount to the loss of the community’s identity. Newswatch learnt that he had done all the ceremonies to restore the worship and service of those deities weeks after Uzomah had destroyed them.

However, Uzomah has a handful of supporters in the crusade he embarked upon. Many indigenes of the area who would not want their names mentioned confirmed the existence of such barbaric tradition in the area. They fear that Uzomah might fail in the crusade to abolish the culture especially with the calibre of people opposing him.

Canice Okorie, president, Owerre Ebeiri Development Union said the practice of killing human beings in the name of culture or tradition should not be taken lightly. He told Newswatch that he was aware of such practices in different parts of Igboland and beyond. He gave kudos to Uzomah for his effort to eradicate such tradition in the town. “I must commend him for his courage to confront the outdated practice. I condemn such traditions, we have to move out of the bondage of traditional bondage to enable us brace up for the future. Anybody using it (revolution) as a ploy to contest the throne is wasting his time,” he assured. Okorie also likened what happened in Calabar where the present Obong refused to be guided by certain traditional norms when he ascended the throne to the situation in Owerre Ebeiri.

He, however, called on the government to intervene and stop “this evil practice” associated with the Ezeship stool in the community.

Eighty-three bodies were reportedly discovered and scores of skulls and other bones found littering the "evil forest."

Perhaps impressed by their act of bravery, Ajah wanted his colleagues to eulogise the police, but he walked himself into the odium of his colleagues from the Southeast.

Their concern was that controversial as the saga had been in the public domain, it should not be introduced on the floor particularly by an Igboman.

The former leader of the Southeast caucus in the House, Mao Ohubunwa (Abia) opened the line of attack on Ajah.

He frowned at the attempt by a "son of the soil" (an Igboman) to commit a supposed sacrilege by bringing the Okija Shrines gods to judgment in the people's court.

"We should not be here to do things that are not in tune with our culture. If he wants to withdraw or is disposed to withdrawing the motion, he should do so but to say he is under pressure says a different thing," Mao said.

Nigerian ritual killing arrests

Some 30 people in Nigeria have been arrested after 50 corpses were found by police in a raid on fetish shrines.
Twenty skulls, as well as genitals and other body parts were in a forest in south-eastern Anambra state.

Those arrested are members of a sect known to kill their victims during rituals in the belief that it will bring them riches.

The majority of Nigeria's 130m people are Muslim or Christian, but some also believe in the power of ritual magic.

Coffins

Police were tipped off by a local villager in Okija who reported the priests had eaten the flesh of some of their victims.


HAVE YOUR SAY
I believe witchcraft exists and does in fact work
Mark, Kansas City, USA

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"They were in coffins. There was no smell, not a single fly. This gives an indication that some chemicals must have been used on these bodies," Anambra State police spokesman Kolapo Shofoluwe told the AFP news agency.

According to the BBC's Chukwujama Eze in south-eastern Nigeria, the magnitude of the find has shocked residents.

A good number of the corpses had parts missing - hands, genitals or heads.

Some of the corpses had decomposed, while others were fresh, our correspondent says.

500 Okija victims recount ordeal

Daily Independent
30th August 2004

By Chris Agbambu, Deputy Bureau Chief, Abuja

Shrines in Okija, Anambra State were chambers of horror and torture. About 500 victims have told police investigators how they were tortured to confess to crimes they knew nothing about.

In turn, the police have tightened their noose on the detained priests who may be charged with multiple crimes against humanity.

Since the news of their arrests, police investigators have been inundated with petitions from victims who allege one form of maltreatment or another by the priests.

They said the ordeal usually started with an invitation by the priests alleging offences they were innocent of.

One of the victims told the police in Abuja how the shrine operators extorted more than N3 million from him if he did not want to die.

The victim, who pleaded anonymity, told the detectives that it was by the special grace of God that he is alive, having met their demands.

In their own petition to the police, the Igbo community in Kwara State narrated how they were summoned to the shrine.

The younger brother of the captain of the Super Eagles, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, was also at the police headquarters to tell detectives how the footballer was summoned to the shrine.

The victims said they came voluntarily to narrate their experiences so that when the list of the names in the shrine registers are published, Nigerians would not be surprised, “because most of them were victims of circumstances”.

The Ritual Killings in Okija Shrine.....

Nigerian police say they have found a further 33 bodies in addition to the 50 already uncovered in fetish shrines in south-eastern Anambra state.
A traditional cult reputed to carry out ritual killings is thought to have carried out the murders.

Some of the corpses had hands, genitals or heads missing.

Police have displayed skulls - and five men of the 30 or so people arrested in connection with the murders - to correspondents in the capital, Abuja.

'Parallel court'

"Police are concerned about how the headless bodies found their way into the shrines," said deputy police chief Sunday Ehindero.

However, a spokesman for those arrested denied any involvement in the killings.

"Since I have been there, for two years, I have not seen anybody killed by these people. Rather, the shrines kill," said Collin Obi.

He said bodies had been brought to the Okija shrines by family members.

Mr Ehindero said groups involved in disagreements had gone to the shrines to take part in black magic rituals.

"What we are saying is that we found there is a parallel court," he said.

Police found the shrines after being tipped off by a local villager in Okija who reported the priests had eaten the flesh of some of their victims.

What a horrible discovery......

…Student killed, heart missing, as Police begin probe From EMMANUEL UZOR, Onitsha The Anambra State Police Command is investigating the death of an 18-year-old boy whose decomposing body was found at Abate Drive, Ogbomanu, near Onitsha. The body of Mr. Miracle Onwura, who was a student of Learning Field International School, 3-3 was discovered with a deep hole in his heart by residents in the early hours of yesterday in a deep well at Abatete Drive by Ogbomanu. Though the police said the cause of death was still unknown, residents told our reporter that the incident was ritual killing because of the alleged deep hole in the deceased’s heart. According to Miracle’s close friend who doesn’t want to be named, it was ritual killing, adding, “we discovered there was a deep hole in his heart and we suspected that his heart had been plucked out” Miracle who was living with his parents at No 1 Onwura Close, Housing Estate, Trans-Nkisi, went missing on Sunday June 30 after playing football with his friends. He said: “We played football together with Miracle on Sunday, he told us he wanted to go and barb his hair, since that day, he never came back…

A man, Okorie Ogbafor, who reportedly murdered his 26-year-old wife, Ifeoma Okorie, and removed her private parts and hair at Onicha-Isu, in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, for ritual purposes before fleeing to Lagos has been arrested.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Sylvester Igbo while briefing newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Abakaliki, yesterday, said the corpse of the deceased was found in a bush behind the couple’s family house, adding that it had already started decomposing when a team of policemen from the state command found it.

Igbo, who disclosed that the suspect took off to Lagos State after committing the crime, noted that relatives of the suspect who reported the incident at a nearby Police station assisted in arresting him in Lagos.

“On July 12, 2013, a case of murder was reported at Onicha-Isu, in Onicha Local Government Area where it was alleged that one Ifeoma Okorie, 26, wife to Okorie Ogbafor was murdered and the corpse dropped in a bush behind their family house,” Igbo said.

“When the police team went to the place, on a closer examination of the corpse, it was discovered that the head of the woman was nearly severed from her body and it was also discovered that her private part was chopped off and parts of the hair shaved while the corpse was already decomposing.

“It was taken to the Federal Teaching Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
“It was after three days that her body was discovered. However, in the effort to know the actual perpetrator of the act, some people were arrested and it was then that we discovered that one Okorie Ogbafor was the person behind the killing of his wife.

“After killing the wife, he ran to Lagos. All this while, he was not seen within the vicinity and as information reached his kinsmen who were living in Lagos they reported the incident at the nearest police station to where the suspect resided.”

Igbo said a team of detectives in charge of the case were on their way to Lagos to bring back the suspect to Ebonyi State as the case would soon be charged to court after investigation.

Police in Abia state yesterday dug up the body of the 400 level law student of Abia State University, Mr. Obinna Obasi Awa from a superficial grave where he was buried in a farm in the region of the University community settlement in Uturu, Abia State.

According to DAILY SUN, CP Aisbaor stated: “We learnt that it was in the course of initiation that they inflicted lots of injuries on him and he gave up the ghost and they went and buried him in a shallow grave. Investigation is still on, at the end of it, we will charge the culprits to court. It is a pure case of murder. But the other two who are involved were the ones that led the police to the place that they buried the deceased. Chiemele and Okoronkwo are members of Maphites Confraternity, but not part of the initiation”

What a way to waste a promising life, condolence to his family. Why should these cultists inflict pains on themselves? when they claim, the sole aim of their confraternity is “brotherhood” and looking out for themselves against opposition cults within the University campus?.

Four policemen attached to the Federal Highway Patrol Unit of the Nigerian Police, Aba/Azumini section, Abia State have been detained over alleged ritual murder.

The police team led by Hyginus Omeze, were alleged to have murdered one Onyekachi Chukwu, aged 26, dissected him and collected some of his vital organs for ritual purposes.

Trouble was said to have started for Omeze and his team when they got a distress call to a location at Nwaobasi All Saints Estate, Ogbor Hill and arrested Onyekachi.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that on Sunday June 23, Onyekachi, a native of Ahaba Imenyi in Isuikwuato local council who lived at No. 47 Ukaegbu Road, Ogbor Hill, Aba went out with his friends to drink at a hotel located at City Global hotel on Ekenna Avenue.

After spending the day, Onyekachi who was said to have been heavily drunk decided to pass the night at the house of one of his friends in resident at the Nwaobasi All Saints Estate in Ogbor hill.

According to a resident of the area who preferred anonymity, “When the boy got to the house, he started banging at the gate and shouting the name of his friend, Ifeanyi with whom he had gone out earlier to drink with.

The bangs at the gate attracted the attention of the residents including his friend, Ifeanyi’s wife. When Ifeanyi’s attention, who was not yet home as the time at 2.00am, was called to the situation, he was said to have called his neighbours and his wife through phone call that Onyekachi is not a thief and but was drunk and should be taken care of.

The source hinted that another resident, a nurse simply known as Ezinne Sunday, alleged to a girlfriend to the policemen of the Federal Highway Patrol, made a call to them.

The policemen stormed the area and found the boy drunk and started beating him with gun butt and later took him to their base at unnamed hotel at Opobo road area of Ogbor Hill which serves as their base

The policemen, who were said to have refused appeals by residents of the area arrested Onyekachi and a tenant as well as a caretaker of the house and took them to the same hotel.

On getting to the hotel, Pointblanknews.com gathered that the policemen left the other two men behind with the gate man of the hotel and took Onyekachi out in their new Prado patrol jeep and drove towards Azumini.

After about one hour, the policemen were said to have returned to the hotel without Onyekachi whom they went out with.

According to sources at the hotel, as they came back to the hotel, the police men collected the men they had earlier left behind and took them back to the Nwaobasi All Saints Estate residence and ordered the occupants of the house to contribute money for them to replace the bullets and petrol which they claimed they had wasted and the people complied without actually knowing what the policemen did.

The lid later blew open when Onyekachi’s relations after two days of searching for him without success made formal complaint to the Ogbor Hill Division of the Nigerian police at Azuka Drive who swung into action and traced their colleagues who committed the dastardly acts to the Rowmay hotel where four of them were arrested.

The DPO of the Ogbor Hill Division was said to have re-arrested the two occupants who were returned to their house by the Federal Highway Police who spilled the beans and where they parted ways with the late Onyekachi.
The gatemen of the hotel who was also arrested later identified the 4 policemen who drove the boy away, but returned without him.

An elder brother to the late Onyekachi, Uchechi alleged his brother was killed for ritual purposes.

“They arrested somebody who was drunk, instead of taking him to a police station, they took him to a hotel, is that the way to do police work? Is the hotel now a police station? An innocent boy was killed without offence by the Federal Highway Police. Onyekachi was killed for ritual purposes.
This is why they didn’t allow any member of the family to see his body. My brother’s blood was crying for justice. We are calling on the Inspector General of Police and Gov. Theodore Orji to ensure that justice is done so that Onyekachi will not die in vain.”

Uche expressed gratitude to the Aba Area Commander, ACP Rabiu Dayi without whose efforts the killers of his brother would have gone scot free. He described the Aba Area Commander as one of the shinning lights of the Nigerian Police.

Police sources hinted that the arrested policemen later took their colleagues to an abandoned borrow-pit located on the outskirts of Akpaa Mbaato community along the Aba/Azumini Highway where the dismembered and decomposing body of Onyekachi was found placed on top of a roofing shit before being allegedly dissected. A police source who was part of the visit to the abandoned borrow-pit said human skulls, bones, hand gloves, sheets of zinc and metal were seen on the site, stressing that it was an ugly sight to behold.

Reacting to the allegation of the Onyekachi being killed for ritual purposes, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abia command, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna who confirmed the incident, denied reports that he was killed for ritual purposes.

“It could be as a result of the way bullets pierced his body that made his relations think the young man was murdered for rituals, but I assure you there was nothing like that.”

Ogbonna said the four suspects involved in the dastardly act are undergoing interrogation after which the law would take its course, stressing that police men are meant to protect lives and property, not to kill innocent people.

In recent times, Aji community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State has witnessed an unprecedented upsurge in crime. Since December 2012, three youths of the community have been killed by suspected ritualists. The worrisome thing about the killings was that the vital parts of the victims were removed by the unknown killers raising apprehension among the villages that ritual killers are on the prowl in their community.

Worried by this trend, the women of Aji, led by Mrs Amaka Urama, a school teacher and chairman of the Catholic Women Organization (CWO), staged a peaceful protest in the community, demanding an immediate end to the killings and the dissolution of the community’s vigilante, which they feared has been infiltrated by criminals and politicians, who want to use the members to achieve their political end.

They alleged that the chairman of the vigilante, Mr. Joseph Azegbe and the counsellor of the area had used masquerades to harass and intimidate them in efforts to stop their protest. At the end of the peaceful protest witnessed by the police, the army and officers of the State Security Services (SSS), Mrs. Urama spoke to Daily Sun. •

The chairman of Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area Mr. Onuh, the traditional ruler of Aji, Igwe Itodo and the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation Mr. Goddy Ogenyi who approves vigilante group’s formation also spoke to Daily Sun. Mrs Urama My name is Mrs Amaka Urama, the leader of Aji Women Forum (AMF).

We had gathered ourselves together to cry out to the government, the chairman of Igbo-Eze North LGA, the traditional ruler of Aji and all the community stakeholders that we are no longer comfortable with the escalating crime rate in Aji. Our sons are being killed in mysterious circumstances. The killings started after the previous vigilante was dissolved.

Since then, we have lost three of our children. Before the dissolution our town was peaceful and our Igwe, His Royal Highness Simeon Osisi Itodo even received an award as the most security conscious traditional ruler in the South-East. We don’t know what happened and control of the vigilante was maneuvered out of his hand by some evil-minded politicians who have vaulting ambition to rule.

Those who were killed have their vital parts removed. They are Festus Idoko, Ndubuisi A and Uche Nwaossai who was killed and his body stuffed into his father’s water tank. As mothers who carry these children nine months in our wombs, we are tired of passing through these avoidable gory and horrible experiences.

We want a stop to it. The way it can be stopped is easy and that is the dissolution of the vigilante which has been hijacked by a highly placed civil servant (name withheld) who is running the vigilante through his cronies as a personal enterprise to achieve his political ambition using the blood of our children.

Our Igwe is the chief security officer of the community and should be allowed to choose the chairman of the vigilante. When he was in control, there was no crime in Aji. We want the status quo restored. This is why we are protesting. Some people don’t want us to protest and used over 200 masquerades to harass and intimidate us. We are surprised that our councilor is behind this.

The civil servant I was telling you about sent some of his thugs to my house to warn me not to mobilize the women for protest or else I will be killed. But I was undaunted. If I die because of a noble cause, I have no regrets; God will receive me in His paradise. But let it be known that if I die, the top civil servant now remote-controlling the vigilante should be held responsible. We want security in Aji to be tight to prevent these killings. We are surprised that some of these dements loyal to the civil servant are against our demand for tighter security in Aji. Why are they saying we should not protest the killings?

Do they have skeletons in their cupboards? Our sons are being killed and their private parts removed and people are saying we should not protest. I wonder, we have support of 99 per cent of well-meaning and concerned Aji people. Only one per cent of the people are against us.

We had asked the police that they brought to stop us to ask those that brought them why they want the killings to continue. We are for peace. We are copying from our leader, Patience, wife of Goodluck Jonathan who has gathered African women in quest of peace in Africa. We are just replicating her activities in our community.

We salute every Aji citizen who supports us. Anybody who is against us should be watched by security agents, the government. We are law abiding, we are harmless, we have no arms, we are only crying out for the salvation of Aji. We are praying God to have mercy on Aji as we women are agents of creation by God.

All Aji women are united in this common cause irrespective of age, economic status, religious difference or creed. We will fight until we restore peace in Aji and the killings stopped. Before the peaceful protest, I informed the police, the army, the local government chairman, the Igwe, the elders-in-council, the councilor representing us, and the vigilante. The chairman of the local government is not against us. He is worried that these kinds of atrocities in Aji are happening in his LGA.

He even lost his own brother in the ongoing killings in the area. Aji monarch, Igwe Osisi Itodo Our problems started after the former vigilante was dissolved in December 2011. Before now, the community was very peaceful.

We had an election, but I was surprised to see that the names the community sent to the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation were substituted. Only half was approved by the commissioner, while another half presented by Engr. Atigwe unliterary was also approved. Between December 2011 and now crime has been on the rise here and three of our children were killed with their vital organs removed.

We are worried about this and want urgent stop to this ugly trend. I demand immediate dissolution of the present vigilante so that those we can trust the security of Aji into their hands can be appointed. It is very doubtful if the upsurge in crime in the community is a mere co-incidence since the dissolution of the former vigilante.

We are living in the village and as such, we are in a better position to know who to trust the security of the community into their hands. The apprehension of the women should be addressed. They should be encouraged in their noble effort to rid the community of criminality and restore it to its former position of a community where peace reign and crime minimised. Chairman of the LG, Mr Bonaventure Onuh The crime rate in Aji is worrisome.

The local government is concerned about the deteriorating crime situation in Aji. My own brother, a staff of the local government, was a victim. He was hacked to death while coming to work. I decided to hand over the matter to God since the actual killers of my brother could not be traced. I did not want a situation where innocent persons will be made to suffer for the crime of another.

The local government is planning to hold a crusade for Aji, we will not hesitate to dissolve any vigilante found to be performing beyond expectation or incapable of protecting the lives of the people. When contacted the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation in the state, Mr Goddy Ogenyi feigned ignorance of the Aji problem, saying “I don’t know what you are talking about,” and advised the reporter, adding that “whatever you want, put it down in writing and bring it to the Government House and we will study it.”

Angry residents of Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State stormed the Enugu State Government House on Tuesday, protesting the ritual murder of no less than nine women from different communities in the area.

The protesters, mostly women, who were clad in black and black alleged that chief priests of different deities in the area collaborated with the ritualists in carrying out the dastardly act.

Apart from the ritual killing, the women equally condemned forceful marriage of their daughters to deities.

They cited cases of Amachalla and Ugbaike communities, where two ladies – Victoria Ugwuanyi and Rosemary Ugwuanyi – were forcefully “married” to a deity called “Iyakpala Ugbaike.”

The chief priest of the deity is alleged to have also forced the daughter of a deceased man to marry him after claiming that the same deity killed the father of the girl.

The women holding palm leaves, pleaded with Governor Sullivan Chime to ban forceful marriages to deities in the council and to also prevail on security agencies to put an end to the ritual murder.


The petition they submitted to the Governor read in part, “We strongly appeal to Governor Sullivan Chime to look into the gruesome murders, investigate the cases with the aim of uncovering the perpetrators and bringing them to book.

“We also appeal for outright ban of any deity from forced marriage of our women as it violates sections 34 (1), 35 (1) and 42 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria and Africa charter on human and peoples’ rights”.

Some of the victims of the ritual killing include- Eucharia Abugu, Gloria Ugwoke, Caroline Mama, Ijeoma Onu and Mary Onu, all from Inyi community.

It was said that at Ikpamodo community, one Christopher Eya was murdered in cold blood in his house, same as Mabel Itodo of Okpo and a boy named Ntadinma Eze from Amaja community.

The list also included the wife of the traditional ruler of Igogoro that was kidnapped three months ago and had not been seen till date.

DailyPost gathered that efforts by the police to prosecute some of the suspects had always been foiled by some influencial personalities in the area.

A source disclosed that some of the suspects were recently granted a controversial bail by the court, even though were standing trial for murder.

Enugu Women Protest Ritual Killings

Worried by the incessant ritual killings, especially of women in Enugu-Ezike in Igboeze-North Local Government Area of Enugu State, no fewer than 100 women yesterday protested the alleged killing of 11 women from their area.

The protesters accused suspected ritualists and chief priests of different deities in the area of being responsible for the dastardly act.

The protesters, who wore black dresses, held out tender palm fronds as they marched on the Enugu Government House, where they pleaded with the Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime, to ban forcible marriages to deities in the local government.

In a petition they submitted to Chime, the women appealed to the governor to come to their rescue by unravelling and stopping the murders of women for ritual purposes.
The protesting women gave the names of the victims of the ritual murders to include Eucharia Abugu, Gloria Ugwoke, Caroline Mama, Ijeoma Onu, Mary Onu all from Inyi community.

The women said they were agitated as they did not feel safe, pointing out that "it can be anybody’s turn next.”

At Ikpamodo community, one Christopher Eya was said to have been murdered in his house like Mabel Itodo of Okpo and a boy named Ntadinma Eze from Amaja community.

The list also included the wife of the traditional ruler of Igogoro who was kidnapped three months ago and has since not been seen till date. There were fears about her safety, as many believed that she might have been killed for ritual.

Also at Amachalla and Ugbaike communities, two young women, namely Victoria Ugwuanyi and Rosemary Ugwuanyi, were forcibly "married" to a deity called "Iyakpala Ugbaike."

The chief priest of the deity is alleged to have also forced the daughter of a deceased man to marry him after claiming that the same deity killed her father.

Part of the petition reads: "A man named Solomon Eze died of HIV as was confirmed by medical report but the worshipers of the deity went and packed the deceased man's belongings and took them to the shrine, claiming it was the deity that killed the man.
"We strongly appeal to Governor Sullivan Chime to look into the gruesome murders, investigate the cases with the aim of uncovering the perpetrators and bringing them to book.

"We also appeal for an outright ban on any deity from forcible marriage of our women as it violates section 34 (1), 35 (1) and 42 (1) of the 1999 constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria and African charter on human and peoples right."

Fear and disbelief gripped residents of Inyi Enugu-Ezike and environs recently when they discovered an evil forest near the town that served as den for ritual killers and their gory activities. During the search of the hideout of the ritual murderers in the town located in Igbo Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, led by Rev. Father John Bosco, fresh and decomposing human parts were found littered all over the evil forest. Some corpses had vital parts missing.

Investigations by this magazine revealed that many of the victims were taken to the forest and butchered by the ritualists who then removed the vital parts needed for money-making rituals. Some prominent citizens of the state and environs are said to be patrons of herbalists and native doctors who perform rituals in the forest.

In a move that spurred national attention to the gruesome activities in Inyi Enugu-Ezike, residents of the town, led by Mrs. Theresa Mary Daya, Mrs. Mary Abugu, Ugwu Stella Chinello, Alomona Agnes and Mrs. Josephine Ogobor, petitioned the state government to take over the large expanse of land belonging to the village shrine, Ogene Mmili. The protesting women, who also demanded that perpetrators of the dastardly acts be punished, stated that they raised an alarm since the efforts of the men have failed.

Curiously, the unsuspecting victims of the ritualists were all females. Their names were given as Miss Eucharia Abugu Eya, 20; Miss Gloria Ugwueke, 35 and one Mrs. Caroline Odo Eje who was said to be a widow with seven children. The victims were said to have been abducted while going about their lawful activities. The choice vital parts of the ritualists are said to be heart, kidney and the private parts. The kidnap and killing of one of the victims, 26-year-old Miss Edith Ijeoma Onu Ossai, TheNEWS gathered, last month led to the insanity of her bereaved mother and sparked a protest by over 3,000 women.

The latest was the death of the traditional ruler of Umuokoro Autonomous Community, Umuogbo Inyi, Igwe Christopher Abugu. According to the villagers, this happened after he asked a mysterious cripple he saw in front of his house along the Enugu-Makurdi Road, Inyi, to leave. A vehicle was said to have crushed the Igwe immediately he left the scene. Until his death, the traditional ruler was cooperating in exposing ritual murderers within his domain. He was part of the team that conducted TheNEWS round the town on investigation.

As a result, Chijioke Ugwu, Chairman of the local council, has vowed that perpetrators of evil acts in the community must be brought to book as soon as possible. “My saddest moment was the killings in Inyi,” he told the magazine in an interview. According to him, the ugly incident is portraying his council in bad light to the outside world. To this end, he has convened a security meeting of the council to tackle the menace with urgency. The divisional police headquarters has been provided with facilities for a round-the-clock patrol of Inyi and environs.

According to him, the police have arrested 11 people in connection with armed robbery, rape and kidnapping in the area. But tracking down ritual killers in the town remains a Herculean task. Investigations at the Homicide Section of the State CID, Enugu showed the arrest of one Chukwudi Odoh, believed to be a buyer of old cooking pots at Obollo Afor in Udenu Local Government Area in the state.

There is another dimension to this development in Anambra State, where men who rape young girls for rituals have become a threat. This has made the Federation of International Women Lawyers, FIDA, Anambra State chapter to raise an alarm.

According to FIDA chairperson, Mrs. Margaret Nwagbo, Onitsha has recorded an alarming increase in sexual assault on women and minors in recent times, noting that no less than seven cases were recorded in the last three weeks of January this year.

She appealed to the citizens not to send out their children on errand unaccompanied, especially in the night. Nwagbo further advised parents not to cover up such cases. She particularly referred to a four-year-old girl who was molested by a 56-year-old man on the belief that the ritual would “make him complete”. Another girl who was sent on an errand at night in Onitsha was molested by some ritualists in a dark alley.

Though it was widely believed that killing people for ritual hardly happens in Abia State, a recent development has proved it wrong. Ebi Onuoha, a 26-year-old man from Igbere, Bende council area of the state, in a desperate bid to get quick rich, killed his mother for ritual. He was lynched in the commercial city of Aba. It was reported that Ebi went to Nguzu Edda in Ebonyi State where he consulted a herbalist to make charms that would make him become a wealthy man.

Impeccable sources disclosed that the herbalist prescribed that Ebi should kill his mother and excise her sex organs as part of the concoctions for the sudden wealth. Onuoha Elendu, Ebi’s father, unaware of the lurking danger, had travelled home for the burial of his close relation at Igbere. Cashing in on his father’s absence, Ebi connived with his friends and fooled his unsuspecting mother, Kate, into accompanying him on a stroll along a riverbank in the city. On getting there, his friends sprang from the forest, blindfolded and tortured her to death. They cut off her vital organs

Few hours after the woman’s absence from home, some of her children were anxious about her whereabouts, as she was not in the habit of staying out late. Subsequently, they raised alarm. Her husband was contacted on phone and alerted of the sudden disappearance of his wife from their family house at 97 Onyemechi Street, Aba. Friends of the family, relations and residents of the neighbourhood were mobilised to comb the nearby forest in search of the woman. When he was threatened, Ebi, it was gathered, confessed that her remains were hidden at the bank of the Aba river. The team became angry and lynched him. When TheNEWS visited the area, the scene of the crime was deserted, but a few persons living adjacent to the area confirmed the incident and disclosed that the corpses of the mother and son had been buried in Igbere, their hometown.

Similarly, at Omenazu road in Aba, the landlord of a three-storey building was said to have used his two sons for money making rituals after the mother of the two boys fled the matrimonial home for undisclosed reasons. The boys were staying on the third floor of the building.The first and second floors were rented to tenants. It was alleged that the tenants always noticed strange movements by their landlord at nights. Every Friday, the tenants alleged, they usually observed their landlord with a Ghana-must-go bag filled with money. One day, a member of a Pentecostal church started praying against the nightmares and God, it was reported, revealed to him the secret about their landlord.

On a tip off, the police invited the landlord for interrogation. In fear, the suspect fled, forcing the police to swoop on the building and, according to the people, the cops discovered the sons of the landlord, vomiting N1,000 notes that filled the rooms.

the only thing they understand and respect is igbotic english.

they will learn to have mutual respect for others by force and by fire.

A man in Anambra State has been arrested by operatives of the state police force after it was alleged that he took thelife of his own mother.


The officers, deployed from the Obosi Police Division in the state, apprehended one Tonna Enedo, who hails from Obosi in the Idemili North Local Government Area of the state, on suspicion of the crime.The accused when queried gave a series of reasons why he committed the crime.

Nigerian Eye reports: He blamed the incident on his quest to make money at all cost, adding that he waslured into a fraternity. He said he has slept in the mortuary for seven hours as part of the money-making rituals.Tonna said: “I was asked by the chief priest of the society that if I wanted to berich, I should go and have fun with a mad woman.


I should also go and sleep with a body for seven hours; I should fast for seven days dry; I was told that I would first kill my father and the last stage is that I will go mad and after I might have completed all the condition, I will become the richest man in Africa, if not in the whole world.”He said he met all other conditions and wasplanning to kill his father when he mistakenly killed his mother.


He said it was after he hit a metal on her head that he realised he had killed the woman he loved most.

Tonna is a first-born from a divorced home. The parents divorced in 1984. He behaved like a mentally-challenged person in and around Obosi before the incident.

With the emergence of the month of December, which usually heralds the celebration of Christmas marking the birth of the savior of the world, Jesus Christ, many are known to have mistaken this as a time for stock taking on the achievement of the year, leading to their involving in several acts to ensure that they meet up their obligations by all means possible.



Chief among some of the vices people engage in to make money is ritual killings and armed robbery. This is a time when it is known that especially in the eastern part of Nigeria where the people value the celebration not for what it is, but for the mere fact that it is seen as a period for taking stock, and as such anyone who has not made it big to such times is simply out of trend.



This has lead to the popularization of the phrase ember-months. This usually starts in September, and is like a warning sign that the year is fast coming to an end, and a reminder that one must try to make it. During this period, vices like kidnapping for ransom, ritual murder and armed robbery rise, prices of goods in the market simply skyrocket as the trader tries endlessly to make more money through undue profit.



The above scenario could be said to be responsible for the fate of one Chioma Ezeonyido, a waiter at a restaurant [see restaurant] in Awka, when an okada operator who was to convey her to her home after a hard day’s job turned out to be a ritualist, and attempted to behead her after forcefully driving her into bush along the route they traveled.



This took place in late August of 2010.



Though she was able to survive the attempt, the story is a chilling one as the lady told it to ukpakareports.com herself, while doubting that she would be alive to tell her story as even her doctors gave up on her, having not seen anyone survive such cuts in her throat before.



Seeing the heavy stitches round her neck, where the murderers tore through her skin all round, one will wonder if her head had not fallen off from her body before it was joined together with stitches from her doctor. Coupled with that is another cut with a knife on the artery on her ankle, connecting her legs to her feet. According to her, this was a deliberate attempt by the ritualist to ensure that she does not leave the bush until he returns with a bigger cutlass since her head refused to fall off her body despite the cut round her neck.



According to Chioma, “on that evening, I closed work at Amawbia and felt I should use an okada to go back to the house, instead of the bus I usually board. I live at Nise, a village in Awka south. I met this tall and huge black man at Amawbia junction on a bike, when I beckoned on him, he was ready to carry me.



“I had no reason to suspect him, even though I should have. The man throughout did not say a word, so I would not know what his voice sounded like. I boarded his okada and he moved with me, we sped past a military check point at the border of Amawbia and Nise and were heading to St Paul’s College, Nise when he suddenly braked and said the only word I heard from him throughout the encounter. He said he saw a phone by the road side, and without seeking my permission, he simply reversed and went for it and on getting there we found out there was not phone, instead of continuing on the journey, he sped through a track road into the bush.



“All my enquiries to know why he was speeding into the bush brought forth no answer. At this point I sensed danger and thought it would be wiser to jump off the bike and save my life. I did just that, but as I landed on the ground I could not stand on time, even at than he too quickly dumped his bike and charged at me.



“The first thing he did was to use my hair tie to fasten round my throat, such that I found it very difficult to shout. We struggled with ourselves for quite some time, just as he dragged me further into the bush, then produced a knife which he now stabbed my neck with. As you are seeing these stitches on my neck, it is very deep. Something that my entire hand entered into. But surprisingly, I was not feeling any pain then, the man went further after trying to cut my neck from the front which is my throat, he stabbed be in the back of my neck and was pulling the knife so that the cut will join the one in the front and probably for my head to fall off.” She explained.



Though she was surprised why she should still be alive, she also believed that the spirit in her was more than the one in the man as he was obviously not happy that he could not behead her that easily. She stated that she laid still as if she was already dead, until the man feeling disgusted held her ankle and cut it.



This she said may be for him to go out and source for a bigger knife, while taking precaution so she does not regain consciousness and move away.



“After sometime, though I cannot say for how long, I opened my eyes and saw that the man was no longer there. I managed to move, how I did that I did not know. I found my way to the highway, where I fell on the road blocking the way. Every motorist that saw me refused to stop, rather they dodged my body and continued. Maybe they thought it was a set up. It was after sometime that the military people came, maybe someone had gone to alert them. That was how I was taken to the hospital and given treatment.”



Asked if she thinks it is a case of attempt to assassinate her, Chioma said she has not had any misunderstanding with any one recently or even in the past. She also stated that if the man was bent on killing him, he would have stabbed her on other parts of her body to ensure that she died, but the man was only particular about his neck, which she said is an indication that the man was seeking her head.



She advised people to be very careful who they went out with, or even the buses or okadas they entered as in her case, she never suspected that the okada man who she thought was looking for passengers could be having weapons and looking for a passenger he will be-head.

Abia: Baby snatched from labour room

Our correspondents, Chuks Onuoha in Umuahia and Okey Sampson in Aba, Abia State report that ritual killing seemed to have become a regular occurrence in some parts of the state to the extent that many have become apprehensive when travelling in the state.

Not long ago, a newly born baby was snatched from the labour room while the mother was battling for survival from post-delivery bleeding.

The baby was yet to be found as at the time of this report and the suspicion is that it must have been used for ritual.

Few days after the tot was snatched, the body of a woman without breasts, eyes, and other vital organs was found in a bush path. Before that incident, a young man, residing in a village in Ohuhu sliced the throat of another young man who passed a night with him in his apartment and fled the village.

He was later caught in far away Port Harcourt, River State, where he’d ran to for safety. He was quoted as saying that a highly placed son of a notable personality within the community had commissioned him to kill the young man and bring some parts of his body.

Two years ago, a woman that went to her farm in Ohuhu near Umuahia in the evening was killed and some of her vital organs removed by unknown persons.

A community leader and one of the oldest men in Ohuhu, Chief Onukwube Anyanwu, told Sunday Sun that rituals are nothing, but sacrifices made to enhance one’s chances and opportunities.

“Different types of people in the society perform rituals and sacrifices to make strong charms for protection, fame, success, riches, etc. The highest of all the charms that can be made by man are those that demand human sacrifice. They are the major causes of ritual killings. There are many people within the society who are in a hurry to attain a particular height. They are not ready to wait for God’s time and for that reason, they want to push the hand of the clock to move faster. When the native doctors or herbalists see such people, they give them very hard conditions like the provision of human parts in order to get what they want.

“Human blood, whether we like it or not, is the costliest of all things mankind can possess. That is the reason many people seem to be succeeding in ritual practices. But whether they like it or not, those who embark on such things have ways of paying back sooner or later.

“In Igbo land, rituals are believed to enhance the chances of those who perform it to have one gain or the other. People consult an oracle and the oracle demands that the only thing that will make them succeed is to bring specific human parts.

“Time was when albinos and hunch-backs were at risk, because it was believed that the oracles demanded them to grant the desire of those who consult them”, Anyanwu said.

Prior to the deployment of soldiers to Abia State in 2010 by the federal government, kidnapping was the order of the day in the state, particularly its commercial hub, Aba.

Now that it appears that soldiers have put kidnappers out of ‘business’, these hoodlums have gone into another business – ritual murder. The most vulnerable are children.

On June 11, 2012, two pupils of Oasis Christian Academy, Amaoji in Obingwa Local Government, Prince (6) and Kenneth (4), the only male children of Mr. Chimezie Nwaoha, a mortician with a private hospital in Aba set out for school.

Ironically, the parents of the two kids who had prepared them for school before going for their various businesses thought they were at school while their teachers who did not see them in school presumed that their parents didn’t allow them come to school. Unknown to both sides, the children could not make it to their school that morning because they were abducted and killed for ritual purposes inside a palm plantation that overlooked their school.

Their assailants removed their vital organs including eyes, tongues, breasts and penis before burying the boys in a shallow grave inside the bush. The police later arrested four persons in connection with the incident. Speaking with Sunday Sun, the late children’s father, Nwaoha said he was yet to understand why somebody would cut short the lives and robust future of innocent children. He said it would be difficult for the gap created by the death of his two sons because the boys were his future hope.

Nwaoha advised other parents to, “look for maids to take care of your kids if you are busy all the time,” adding that if he had a maid what befell him couldn’t have happened. He appealed to the Abia state government to assist his family.

As the police were still grappling with the case of the murdered schoolboys, another suspected ritual murder occurred in the city.

A trailer driver, Ndubuisi (other names withheld) who hails from Amawbia, Awka in Anambra State, allegedly forced his wife, Chinyere, to drink some quantity of fuel and set her ablaze. The woman’s family alleged ritual murder.

Speaking on the incidents in Igboland, a chief priest, Kanu Nwaohamuo said ritual killing was not new in that part of the country. He said it started in the early days when able-bodied men, especially slaves and at times those that have offended the land were sacrificed to appease the gods. Children were not used for that purpose and ritual killings were not for moneymaking. It was done to either appease the gods of the land or as a mark of respect for a fallen king or great man in a community and were seldom done.

The chief priest regretted that these days, ritual murder of even innocent children, has become rampant in Igbo land, and mostly for moneymaking, describing the frequency of such cases as alarming.

He said ritual killing is crime against humanity and urged security operatives to double their efforts in fighting the crime.

The South South zone rated the lowest in ritual killings. For example, in Rivers state, Tony John and Canice Uzoukwu reported that the rampant crimes are armed robbery, kidnapping and cultism.

The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Benjamin Ugwuegbulam (DSP), also told Sunday Sun said that there had not been any reported case of ritual killing in the State.

Imo: Victims killed, dumped in Nworie River

Our correspondent, George Onyejiuwa in Owerri, reports that in Imo State, ritual killings have been relatively low compared to other neighbouring states. Improved security and clampdown on ritualists’ den in the state by the present administration may have accounted for this.

Be that as it may, there were pockets of cases of missing persons, who were either found days later, with their vital organs missing or simply disappeared without trace.

Recently, there were reported cases of suspected ritual killings especially in Owerri, the state capital. Among them was the discovery of the lifeless bodies of two female students of the Imo State University, with some of their organs missing.

The bodies fished out from the Nworie River on old Nekede road in Owerri metropolis, were suspected to have been dumped in the river by suspected ritualists. Also, there was a reported case of the body of an unidentified young man with missing organs found floating in the Okitankwo stream in Umuchu Uratta village in Owerri North council area.

Mr Ikedia Zereuwa, told Sunday Sun that he suspected that his younger brother, Iwuchukwu Zereuwa, was killed by ritualists who abducted him while on his way to their village, Umuakpu community in Ngor Okpala, from a business trip in Elele community.

“My younger brother was abducted while on his way back from Elele where he had gone to transact business, but he was lucky to have survived because the Okada operator that he paid to transport him to our village that night was an agent of ritualists. So, instead of taking the major road, he took him through a track road which he told my brother was shorter. They had just moved for a short distance when three men came out from the bush and blocked their way.

“It was from there that he was dragged to a small hut in the bush where there were other people. Luckily, the native doctor pointedly told those that brought him that he was not the type of person they needed and ordered them to set him free. But instead, the abductors tied him to a tree and left him there. My brother was later rescued by a man who had gone to the bush to set traps”, he stated.

Ebonyi: Baby snatched from mother’s breast

From Ebonyi state, Goddy Osuji reports that cases of ritual murder abound in the state and that several cases were yet to be resolved by the police.

One of the most agonizing was the abduction of seven under-aged children at Ishiagu community. Among them, was a nine-month old baby snatched from its mother, Mrs Alice Nkwo while she was breast-feeding the baby. The hoodlums later moved into the family’s bedroom and abducted two other children aged between two and three years.

Bemoaning her losses, Mrs Nkwo said that her mind had not been at rest because she could still hear the cries of her abducted children. This and similar incidents prompted a peaceful protest by women in Ishiagu community against rampant abduction of children for rituals.

Also, a 32-year-old nursing mother, Mrs. Nnenna Emmanuel watched helplessly as some hoodlums forcibly took away her two children, eight months old Chidubem Emmanuel and three-year-old Chiemelem Emmanuel on December 24, 2012.

“It was on the Christmas Eve at about 4am, we were sleeping when we heard the sound of a vehicle parking in front of our house. When the car parked, I woke up and my little baby started crying. I carried him to breast feed him while we waited to know the people parking their car in front of our house at that time of the night. “Suddenly, they kicked our door open and one of them entered the house, gave me a slap and snatched my breast-feeding child from me. The other person broke into the other room where my three-year-old baby was sleeping with his grandmother and took him, and they rushed into their car and zoomed off.

“We raised the alarm but before our neighbours could come, they had driven off. I noticed that they were four in number; two persons were in front while another man and a woman sat at the back off the car but because it was dark, I couldn’t see their faces.

Each night I close my eyes, I hear the cries of my two little children calling me. I pray they are still alive”, the distraught mother lamented.

Also, at Eketube in Enyida Development Centre, the headless body of an apprentice nurse, Miss Kelechi Nwawaka (20), was found behind the Comprehensive Secondary School in the community. She was allegedly murdered at Ndiechi Eketube in Abakaliki local government area of the state. Her head, private part and fingers were cut off apparently for ritual purpose.

It was gathered that Kelechi’s journey to her brutal end started on the New Year day when one of her relations, Mrs Margaret Augustine Nweke, invited her for a dinner in her house which she honoured, and later at night, she left for her mother’s house, escorted by the son of her hostess,

A search party comprising men of the Civil Defence Corps and some villagers later found the mutilated body.

stop speaking grammar with these savages and barbarians.

for every one stup1d thing they post, they must be replied with 10.