Three persons, all females, were beheaded in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, the state police command confirmed on Sunday.
The incidents occurred at two different communities of the LGA.
According to the police, the incidents involved the alleged murder of a mother by her son, and the alleged murder of a woman and her child by the woman’s brother.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, in a release, explained that the first incident occurred st Nkporogwu Ukehe Community.
Ndukwe stated that, “In the first incident, police operatives attached to the Igbo-Etiti Division, at about 3:10pm, responded to a report alleging that one Anikwe Onyebuchi (male, aged about 40) used a cutlass to behead his 60-year-old mother, Anikwe Felicia, at Nkporogwu Ukehe Community.”
Ndukwe said the corpse and the 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.
“The suspect was subsequently rescued and rearrested from an angry mob that had severely beaten him and was taken to hospital for medical treatment,” Ndukwe said, adding that “A full-scale investigation into the incident has commenced.”
In a similar vein, the state police command, responding to a distress call, arrested one Joshua Eze for allegedly murdering his sister and her daughter. The suspect was apprehended by the Command’s Distress Response Squad stationed at Ekwegbe Junction along the Ugwuagu/Opi/Nsukka Road, it was learnt.
The police spokesman said, “At about 3:18pm on the same, police operatives responded to a distress call alleging that one Joshua Eze (male) similarly used a cutlass to sever the heads of his sister, Nwabuche Eze, and her little daughter, Favour Eze, at Agu-Ekwegbe Community in the same Igbo-Etiti LGA. 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.”
He added that the police operatives also rescued the suspect from an angry mob in a critical condition and taken to the hospital, where doctors later confirmed him dead.
He stated that preliminary investigations revealed that after allegedly murdering the victims, he buried their remains in a shallow grave alongside a dead white cock, suggesting possible ritual intentions.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Bitrus Giwa, has condemned the act, and ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State CID to immediately commence comprehensive investigations to ascertain the circumstances surrounding both incidents and ensure necessary investigative actions.
He urged members of 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.”
