WIDOW CRIES TO IGP, SEEKS ARREST OF KILLERS OF HER DAUGHTER IN EBONYI COMMUNITY

REPORTER: AMECHI ODO

A sixty-five year old widow, Mrs. Agnes Okorie, has cried out to the Inspector General of Police to arrest those behind the gruesome murder of her daughter over land inheritance in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The widow, who spoke with journalists, alongside her only surviving daughter in Abakaliki, alleged that one of her dead daughter’s legs was cut off before she was burnt alive with her property.

Mrs. Okorie had two daughters but no surviving male child.

She explained that upon the death of her husband, some of his relations banned her from having access to his land and palm plantation and also refused to include them in his burial plan because she had no male child.

Mrs. Okorie, who could not control her tears, alleged that her daughter, Miss Nnennaya Onu, was killed for daring to drag her husband’s relations to a Family Law Centre and called on the police to arrest the perpetrators.

‘’You people should avenge the death of my daughter, I engaged in labour to raise money and train my child in school only for her to be killed.

“I don’t have any other person, not that I did not give birth to male children, but they died leaving behind my two daughters, now this one has been killed’’ she sobbed.

The only surviving sister of the victim, Mrs. Juliet Onu, noted that the matter was reported to the police but wondered why they had not deemed it necessary to investigate or arrest those involved in the crime.

‘’The matter was assigned to an Inspector, who asked me to write statement, after that, she said I should bring #50,000.00 (fifty thousand Naira) to enable policemen to go for the arrest of the perpetrators but i told her that i cannot raise the money as my slain sister had been my backbone, the breadwinner of the family.

‘’She (the policewoman) then said I should bring #20,000.00 (twenty thousand Naira) to enable them to give the suspects police invitation but I told her it would be difficult to raise the money, she then said okay that i would hear from them and that is all, I want justice,’’ she cried.

The Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission in Ebonyi State, Mr. Christopher Okorie, condemned the alleged heinous act and urged the police to fish out the perpetrators.

‘’The police are directly responsible for crime, so our duty is to report to them and monitor until investigations have reached a point when we can say okay, it is now in public domain,” he explained.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mrs. Loveth Odah, said the Command was ready to cooperate with the family of the victim to ensure that justice was done.

‘’The Commissioner of Police is going to do everything with his power to ensure that the perpetrators of that heinous crime, people who can kill someone remove the leg and even burn her property on top of her, that they would be arrested but to say that police did not do anything since the matter was reported, i want to tell the public that it is false,” the PPRO said.

Radio Nigeria gathered that the remains of the victim have been buried without her severed leg, which her assailants allegedly made away with for ritual.