Police arrest man, girlfriend over alleged murder of 70-year-old woman
The Enugu State Police Command has apprehended two suspects, a man and a woman, accused of kidnapping, murdering, and burying a 70-year-old woman in a shallow grave.
The suspects, identified as 33-year-old Ikechukwu Okoye and 39-year-old Juliet Ogbodo, are reportedly lovers and hail from the Akpugo community in Nkanu West Local Government Area.
According to the Command’s Spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, the suspects face charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder. He revealed that the victim, Mrs Mary Nwatu, went missing on 15th September 2024, and extensive efforts to find her failed.
“Preliminary investigations uncovered that the principal suspect, Okoye, who was also a kinsman of the victim, kidnapped Mrs Nwatu on 14th September 2024 around 8:00 a.m. He later contacted her children, demanding a ransom of N6 million,” Ndukwe disclosed.
The situation took a grim turn as Okoye confessed to murdering the elderly woman and burying her in an uncompleted building near his community.
After multiple negotiations, the ransom demand was reduced to N3 million, though Okoye managed to extract N20,000 from the victim’s children under the guise of allowing them to hear their mother’s voice.
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Okoye’s girlfriend, Ogbodo, admitted to being aware of the gruesome crime but chose not to report it to law enforcement or any other authority.
Ndukwe confirmed that the victim’s remains were exhumed and taken to a mortuary for preservation and autopsy. He also assured that further investigations would identify other individuals linked to the crime.
“The suspects will face justice in court upon the conclusion of our investigations,” he stated.
This horrifying incident has left the Akpugo community in shock, raising concerns about security in the area.
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