The Anambra State Police Command said its operatives have arrested one Okwudili Ogana over the alleged abduction and murder of Igwe Oliver Nnaji, the traditional ruler of Ogwaniocha community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Ogana, who is said to be a native doctor, allegedly masterminded the abduction of the monarch, together with some youths in the community, when they invaded the palace of Igwe Nnaji on November 15, 2021, razed the building and took the monarch away.
The suspects were apprehended by the police around the premises of a court in Onitsha, on March 18 and taken to the Awkuzu police station, where they are making confessional statements, which also revealed that the monarch had been killed.
The police in the state, had, sometime in January 2022, declared 21 persons accused in the abduction of the monarch, wanted.
Confirming the arrest, the police spokesman in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the suspects were apprehended through the ongoing collaborative efforts by security agencies and members of the public.
Ikenga said, “We declared 21 persons wanted in connection with the case and the members of the public have been providing us with information leading to arrests of the suspects, so we got the information that one of them (Ogana) was seen along the court premises in Onitsha, so our men mobilised and got him arrested.
“Because of the collaborations going on with other security agencies, some suspects have been arrested. It is when we collate all the names that we will actually know the total number of those arrested and their leader.”
He added that about 10 of the suspects had earlier been arrested by the Special Forces of the Nigerian Naval Base, Onitsha, during a midnight raid of the Ochan forest camp of the hoodlums on December 31, 2021.
However, some members of the community, who stormed the Awkuzu Police Station, where the suspects are kept, protested against granting the suspects bail and also demanded the case be transferred.
They claimed that Ogana and his group had earlier been arrested, granted bail and later came back to “terrorise” the community.
Speaking to our correspondent on Monday, the son of the monarch, Prince Nnaji Reginald and some elders of the community, expressed dissatisfaction with the way the case was earlier handled and therefore called for the possible transfer of the case.
Nnaji expressed worry that the suspects were earlier granted bail despite overwhelming evidence against them and their utterances and confessional statements.
He regretted the manner previous cases involving the suspects were handled by the court, expressing fears that the present case might not receive the required justice.
He stressed that his father would not have died if the court had not granted bail to the kingpin.
He said, “On Friday, the suspects, at the police station admitted to have abducted and killed my father. The whole episode saddens my heart because I can’t believe that I will grant interview over what I least expected in life.
“This is a slap on Ogwuaniocha community sacred stool because the stool has been desecrated. Those found guilty must have to face the full weight of the law.”
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