The Anambra State Police Command has apprehended four individuals in the Ifitedunu area for allegedly setting a 74-year-old woman in a wheelchair on fire.
Among the suspects is a 21-year-old woman, Chinenye Ekwenugo, who is accused of collaborating with others to kill the woman in the wheelchair.
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This was disclosed by the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement on Sunday, January 26, 2025.
Ikenga stated that the incident took place at around 9 a.m. on Sunday.
He mentioned: “During interrogation by the police operatives, the suspect, Chinenye Ekwenugo, admitted that her boyfriend, Ifeanyi Igwe, who is currently on the run along with three other individuals, set the victim on fire.
“They brought a casket to bury her before the intervention of the security operatives.”
Ikenga also confirmed that the authorities recovered the victim’s charred remains, the wheelchair and a casket.
Police Search for Fugitive Suspect
The police spokesperson added that efforts are underway to capture Igwe, the main suspect, who is currently evading arrest.
He further disclosed that the deceased’s body has been taken to the morgue for an autopsy and to assist in the investigation into the cause of death.
In response to the incident, Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Itam, called for calm and ordered that the case be immediately transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
Cult Violence in Anambra: One Arrested
Ikenga also mentioned that, acting on intelligence, operatives from the anti-cult unit at Enugwu Ukwu arrested one Maduka Okoye in the Abagana area around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
He added that the operatives recovered three spent cartridges from a pump-action gun at a shooting scene in the Ezichike community of Abagana during the operation.
Ikenga stated that the suspect confessed to being a member of the Baggars Confraternity.
He quoted the suspect as saying: “I was in a beer parlour drinking with my friend when the Axe Men Confraternity attacked us.”
The police spokesperson emphasized that the attack could have escalated into a cult clash had the police not intervened.
“The authorities have since restored calm in the area,” Ikenga said.
He confirmed that the suspect is now assisting the police in an ongoing operation to apprehend the remaining members of the gang, as well as those from the rival cult group identified as having been involved in the shooting.
Crediblenewsng.com
