The Anambra State Police Command has arrested two suspects in connection with the murder and burial of their brother in a shallow grave in Oko community, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The Commissioner for Police in Anambra State, CP Nnaghe Itam, made this known during a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Awka on Monday.

Itam revealed that the deceased, Chibuzor Okeke, had been accused of burglary and theft. His brother, Chidiebere Okeke, and cousin, Emebo Ogochukwu, caught him in the act and severely beat him, which led to Chibuzor’s death.

“We have suspects that murdered their brother and buried him in a shallow grave in a compound at Oko. The deceased, Late Chibuzor Okeke, was accused of burglary and stealing.

“His brother, Chidiebere Okeke, and his cousin, Emebo Ogochukwu, caught him and beat him to stupor.

“As a result, Chibuzor became unconscious and was rushed to the hospital, where the doctor confirmed him dead,” said Itam.

In an attempt to cover up the crime, the two suspects dug a shallow grave in their compound and buried the body of Chibuzor.

In addition, Itam disclosed that the police had rescued four children who were allegedly stolen from their parents in Bauchi State and trafficked to Anambra State.

The command also apprehended four suspects, including an illegal foster mother.

“The suspects confessed to the crime and narrated the role that each of them played. One of the children has been identified, and efforts are already underway to reunite the child with his parents,” Itam said.

He also appealed to the public to assist in sharing the pictures of the children for identification and reunification with their families.

CP Itam also provided updates on ongoing security operations. On December 24, 2024, a joint operation led by the Nigeria Police Force, along with the Military, Civil Defence, and Anambra Vigilante operatives, successfully dismantled a criminal camp in Nimo, Njikoka Local Government Area.

The operation resulted in the destruction of several makeshift structures within the camp, the recovery of 19 unexploded improvised explosive devices, and inflicted significant injuries on fleeing suspects.

This operation was based on credible intelligence and information obtained from previous police interrogations.

Furthermore, the police anti-cultism squad in Enugu Ukwu, Njikoka Local Government Area, conducted a raid on December 7, 2024, at a known black spot in Umunaga Village, Awka South Local Government Area.

The raid led to the arrest of two suspects, Okechukwu Chinwuko (27) and Ezenwa Chinedu (22). Authorities also seized a pump action gun, four live cartridges, cutlasses, criminal charms, and substances suspected to be hard drugs.

The operatives also rescued two female victims who had been forcibly abused sexually by the suspects.

In another operation on December 6, 2024, the Special Anti-Cultism Squad in Enugu-Ukwu arrested 18-year-old Miracle Mwakalor from Umubele village, Awka-South Local Government Area.

He was found in possession of an AK47 rifle and a magazine.

The arrest occurred after police intercepted the criminal gang’s plans to commit further violence in Nibo, Awka South Local Government Area. Miracle led the operatives to an apartment in Ubuofu, Awka, where they recovered the hidden rifle.

The police in Enugu State on Monday said one Tsehemba Joshua, 30 years old, had been remanded in prison custody for alleged armed robbery and murder of a 19-year-old scrap scavenger identified as Yusuf Ibrahim.

A statement by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said Joshua was accused of conspiring with two accomplices, currently at large, to rob and strangle the victim.

According to the statement, Joshua was remanded to the Enugu Maximum Correctional Custodial Centre following his court appearance.

He said, “The suspect was arrested by the operatives from the Udenu Police Division of the command, following a community alert regarding a shallow grave discovered in a bush at Ojo River in Ogbodu-Aba, Obollo Community, Udenu LGA.

“The suspect confessed to luring the victim under the pretence of selling a scrap motor vehicle propeller before robbing him of N100,000, strangling and burying his body in a shallow grave on October 2, 2024.

“After a thorough investigation of the case by the Campus Monitoring/Anti-Cultism Section of the State CID Enugu, the suspect was arraigned and subsequently remanded, pending further court proceedings.”

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A 17-year-old boy, Adeolu Olubade, was found dead and buried in a shallow grave inside an apartment on Jesus Assembly Omoguwa Street in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Online learnt that an unnamed 30-year-old suspect had been arrested in connection with the crime.

The spokesperson for the state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this to PUNCH Online on Thursday.

Our correspondent learnt that the crime was believed to have occurred between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm on September 2, 2024.

Hundeyin said the grieving family identified the 30-year-old suspect as being responsible for the heinous crime.

He said, “On September 3, 2024, at about 8:00 am, a family member of the deceased approached and reported at the station that his 17-year-old cousin was discovered dead and buried in one of the rooms at Jesus Assembly Street, Omoguwa Street, Ejigbo.

“They suspected the crime was carried by a 30-year-old suspect of the same address between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Based on this report, a team of detectives was dispatched to the crime scene and took photographs of the shallow grave before the corpse was exhumed.

“The body has been taken to the Isolo General Hospital for postmortem examination. The suspect mentioned has been apprehended, and the shovel suspected to have been used to bury the victim has been recovered, taken to the station, and registered as an exhibit.”

The command spokesperson added that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Unit at Alagbon for further investigation.

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The former Deputy Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Prof. Olorunfemi Olaofe, who was kidnapped on July 9, has been found dead.

Sources, who could not confirm whether the 79-year-old retired university teacher died as a result of weakness due to age or that he was killed by the kidnappers, told PUNCH Metro that the don was found buried in a shallow grave in the bush.

Olaofe was kidnapped in his house alongside his guard on July 9, over three weeks ago, and driven away in his car which the police said they recovered days after the kidnap incident.

Our correspondent gathered that the kidnappers initially demanded N50m ransom and thereafter remained incommunicado.

The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Mr Adeniran Akinwale, who confirmed Olaofe’s death, said, “Yes, the professor has been found dead and we are doing everything possible to exhume the body for burial.

“However, we have arrested so many people and you know the circumstances surrounding the incident and we suspected insiders’ work in which the security man employed by the professor was the one who planned it.

“They (abductors) kidnapped the man with him so that we would not suspect. In the process of rescuing him, we have arrested some people. I can’t say much about the security guard, but at the appropriate time, we will brief the public,” the CP said.

While the search for the former university teacher lasted, members of the Are Ekiti Progressives Union; Ekiti Council of Elders; and Nigerian Universities Pensioners’ Association, EKSU Branch, charged the security agencies and the state government to intensify efforts to rescue the old man.

The Borno State Police Command on Thursday said it had arrested one suspect in connection with a hacked body buried in a shallow grave in the Jiddari-Polo area of Maiduguri.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahun Daso, said in a statement on Thursday in Maiduguri, that the suspect was arrested on March 25.

He said that the decomposed body was exhumed from the shallow grave on March 11, following a report by one Umar Muhammed, that he found a grave, digger and two knives in his uncompleted building.

“On receiving the report, detectives from GRA Police Station visited the scene and exhumed the body which was further taken to State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri for autopsy.

“Then on March 25, police investigation led to the arrest of one Ibrahim Muhammed, who confessed to have conspired with his master, one Usman, still at large, and Mustapha Modu, a labourer who dug the shallow grave where the body was buried.

“He also confessed that he was paid the sum of N1,500 to carry out the assignment,” Daso added.

The spokesman assured all that efforts were being made to arrest the other suspects.

(NAN)

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