*Angry Mob Lynch Both, Second Suspect Beaten To Death
*First Suspect Now In Police Net
By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu
Police in Enugu State have said that two separate gruesome murder incidents occurred on 15 May this year in different communities within Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area (LGA) of the South-East Nigerian state.
The incidents involved the murder of a mother allegedly by her son, and the beheading of a woman and her child allegedly by the woman’s brother,the State Police Command stated.
In a statement by Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command, Daniel Ndukwe, the police disclosed that in the first incident, detectives attached to the Igbo-Etiti Division, at about 3:10 p.m., responded to a report alleging that one Anikwe Onyebuchi (male, aged about 40) used a cutlass to murder and behead his 60-year-old mother, Anikwe Felicia, at Nkporogwu Ukehe community.
Ndukwe added that the corpse and severed head of the deceased were recovered and taken to the hospital, where doctors confirmed her dead, after which the remains were deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
According to the PPRO, upon getting wind of the alleged dastardly murder, an angry mob seized Onyebuchi and descended on him beating the suspect black and blue, but he was subsequently rescued and rearrested from the mob, then taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Full-scale investigation into the incident has commenced, the police spokesman disclosed.
In a separate incident reported the same day, he added, at about 3:18 p.m., operatives of the Command’s Distress Response Squad stationed at Ekwegbe Junction along the Ugwuagu/Opi/Nsukka Road responded to a distress call alleging that one Joshua Eze (male) similarly used a cutlass to severe the heads of his sister, Nwabuche Eze, and her little daughter, Favour Eze, at Agu-Ekwegbe community.
The remains of the deceased victims were recovered and taken to the hospital, where doctors confirmed them dead, after which the corpses were deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy,Ndukwe stated.
He added that, like in the other case, the suspect was rescued from an angry mob in a critical condition and taken to hospital, where doctors later confirmed him dead.
His corpse was equally deposited in the mortuary.
Preliminary investigations further revealed that after allegedly murdering the victims, he buried their remains in a shallow grave alongside a dead white cock, suggesting possible ritual intentions.
The state Commissioner of Police (CP), Mamman Bitrus Giwa, condemned the barbaric acts, ordering the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to immediately commence comprehensive investigations to ascertain the circumstances surrounding both incidents and ensure necessary investigative actions.
The CP implored the public to refrain from taking laws into their hands by resorting to jungle justice, regardless of the provocation, and instead promptly report criminal suspects to the Police or other lawful authorities for appropriate action.
*PHOTO CAPTION: CP Giwa.
