Man ran to his friend's house for safety; few hours later, he was butchered by s

By: CHUKS ONUOHA, Umuahia

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The family and friends of a 23-year-old man recently hacked to death in his sleep in an Abia community are crying out for justice. The young man, an auto-mechanic, was murdered inside a one-room apartment, and all fingers are pointing at his host and friend as the perpetrator of the evil act. The incident happened on the first floor of a two-storey building at Orie Umuagu Market Square, Umuagu Autonomous Community in Umuahia North Local Government area of Abia State.


According to eyewitnesses, the deceased, Mr. Ikechukwu Ezekiel, an only son of his family, was murdered when his host and friend, simply identified as Nwabueze, allegedly drove a long dagger into Ezekiel's throat as he lay down on a mat inside the one-room apartment.

No one could say if there was a quarrel between them but it was learnt that the duo came back together and decided to stay till the morning. Ikechukwu, who hailed from Umudiawa Autonomous Community, a neighbouring town with Umuagu, was allegedly gruesomely murdered on the first floor of the two-storey building by Nwabueze after an all-night wake-keep at Nkpa in Bende Local Government Area of the state.

After his death, Ikechukwu's killers dragged his lifeless body down to the staircase by the road to create the impression that he was killed somewhere else and his body brought and dumped there. But unfortunately for his killers, the deceased's blood flowed down the staircase from the room where he was slaughtered.

An eyewitness, who doesn't want his name mentioned, told our reporter that the suspects were unlucky, as an early riser saw Nwabueze and his girlfriend dragging the body of the deceased down the staircase.

"Immediately he saw the young man, he rushed to him and started confessing that he had killed somebody. He then took off to a neighbouring village where he told one or two people the same story. The youths would have apprehended him but for one of them who advised that Nwabueze be left alone since the deceased was not from the community," the eyewitness said.

In the confusion that ensued, the suspect, a commercial motorbike operator, who also worked as a sand scooper from the nearby Imo River, disappeared into thin air with his girlfriend, a palm oil dealer and single mother said to be a native of Umuagu. Since then, the suspected killers have been at large. The police, it was learnt, have mounted a manhunt for their arrest, and have travelled to Nwabueze's village in Imo State. They, however, failed to arrest him.

Residents of the community are now saying that since the deceased has nobody to fight his cause, the police seem to have been settled by those concerned to look the other way as far as the matter was concerned.

One of the suspects' neighbours said he heard some strange sound like a goat being slaughtered. The neighbour said the noise must have come from Ikechukwu as he was struggling with death, noting that the deceased must have been in a deep sleep when the long dagger was driven into his throat.

Tears flowed from the eyes of those who knew the deceased, as many of those spoken to wept bitterly over the violent death of the promising young man who they described as an only son of his parents. It was learnt that after returning from the wake-keep, he decided to stay with his friend till daybreak to avoid being attacked by hoodlums as his community is at the other side of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway. Unfortunately, the death which he was afraid of, and which made him to stay with his friend, came to him right inside his friend's one-room apartment where he had gone to take refuge.

Those spoken to by Daily Sun felt that Ezekiel must have been in a deep sleep most probably after consuming alcohol at the wake keep. That, they noted, might have warranted his friend to drive the dagger into his throat without any resistance.

"This is what we think happened," one man volunteered to the reporter. "If not, even three of that boy (Nwabueze) put together could not face him in a normal fight."

Meanwhile, all shop owners and occupants of the buildings in the area have fled their shops and homes to avoid answering questions from the police. When contacted, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the state Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Mr Joseph Micloth said that the police would never look the other way as far as there was commission of crime, especially this one that was a capital offence such as murder. He said at the fullness of time, the police would surely arrest the suspect.

He advised the suspect to give himself up in his own interest and stop running, asserting that no amount of hiding would save him from facing the full wrath of the law.

"That we have not arrested him does not mean that we have left or forgotten the case. We cannot keep the landlord indefinitely because he was not the one that committed the crime. But rest assured that we will catch up with the suspect," the police boss said. 

Posted: at 7-06-2012 09:57 AM (11 years ago) | Hero

Chinedu ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, au many times i call u so?  Abeg leave me hand.  U get office?

Posted: at 7-06-2012 10:40 AM (11 years ago) | Hero

Change my surname to?

Posted: at 7-06-2012 10:49 AM (11 years ago) | Hero

I jump and pass, ur surname nor sweet at all, na Dibia be ur surname and i nor fit ans am.  Njoy ur day

Posted: at 7-06-2012 11:01 AM (11 years ago) | Hero

too bad

Posted: at 7-06-2012 05:46 PM (11 years ago) | Grande Master

It is really an unbearable tragedy, friends, alcohol, wake keeping God knows because He is all knowing

Posted: at 8-06-2012 09:10 AM (11 years ago) | Newbie