Operatives of the State Security outfit, Agụnechemba in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State have reportedly arrested two suspects involved in a case of ritual killing and human parts dealing in Eziagulu Village, Aguleri.
The arrests were reportedly made earlier this week, following a tip-off and subsequent intelligence-led operation by the local security team. Two of the arrested suspects, identified as Ifeanyi Ogbanje and Emeka Ekwealor, confessed to the brutal murder of one Mr. Samuel, a commercial motorcyclist from Ivite Aguleri, whom they also butchered, collected some of his body parts, and dumped the remaining parts in a river.
This was corroborated by some videos of the interrogations of the suspects, currently trending on social media.
According to confessions made by the suspects during interrogation, the heinous act was orchestrated by one Chief Chinaka Udealor, the alleged kingpin of the syndicate, who is currently at large.
Another accomplice, identified as Marcel Bad, who is a musician, is also said to be on the run.
Narrating the incident, Ifeanyi Ogbanje disclosed that the victim, Samuel (the Okada rider), was lured to Chinaka’s residence when they called him on the phone and pretended to invite him to come and join them and to have a drink in a friendly gathering at Chinaka’s house.
He said that immediately, Samuel, the Okada rider, arrived there with his bike, where they ambushed him.
According to him, Chinaka stabbed him on the chest immediately, while he shot him on the head with a pump-action gun belonging to Chinaka, and he died instantly while they joyfully began to butcher him and dismember his body.
“We cut off his hands and legs and threw his body into the river,” Ogbanje stated, revealing that he received ₦40,000 as his own share for his role in the killing.
The second suspect, Emeka Ekwealor, corroborated Ogbanje’s confession, admitting to being part of the act.
The suspects further revealed that their gang and acts were sealed with an oath-taking ritual by a native doctor, Udeanyinya Ubanagu, to bind their silence and loyalty to the syndicate.
He further hinted that they also gave the victim’s motorcycle to someone else, who changed the tank and some other bike parts to prevent its identification.
A native of Aguleri, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, noted that Chinaka kills in every community of the Omabala local government areas, rapes young women, and once supervised the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in an open place by ordering his men to rape her, an incident he recorded.
“He claimed the girl insulted them and deserved punishment. No neighbor talked out of fear for their lives.
“They took an oath, and if anyone planned against him, they would brief him, and he would deal with that person. They give Okada riders attractive offers to convey them to Eziagulu Otu and kill them on the road and harvest the body parts for rituals.
“An Eziagulu Otu-born popular minstrel, Marcel Bad, partners with Chinaka in crime while eulogizing him in his albums.
“After Samuel’s killing, Chinaka realized the family was serious about pursuing the case and disappeared to Lagos. Since then, tracking his phone numbers has been challenging. He frequently changes numbers, making it difficult to locate him.
“According to reports, one of his Eziagulu Otu kinsmen is sheltering him in Lagos,” the source alleged.
Meanwhile, as the alleged kingpin of the syndicate, Chief Chinaka Udealor, and the native doctor who conducted the oath-taking ritual for the gang members are still on the run now, sources have it that the arrested suspects are currently in the security custody of the Anambra East Unit of Operation Udo Ga-Achị and are expected to be handed over to the relevant authorities for further investigation and prosecution.
When our correspondent contacted him on Tuesday, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said he did not have such a brief before him.
