Four Arrested for Burning Elderly Woman to Death in Anambra

Police operatives in Anambra State have arrested four individuals in connection with the brutal killing of a 74-year-old woman in Abagana, Dunukofia Local Government Area. The victim, who used a wheelchair, was allegedly set on fire by the suspects before they procured a coffin and hastily buried her.

According to reports, the attack may have been for ritual purposes, orchestrated by one Ifeanyi Igwe, who remains at large. However, security operatives apprehended five people linked to the incident, including Igwe’s 21-year-old girlfriend, Chinenye Ekwenugo.

The Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the arrests in a statement, revealing that three of the suspects were specifically involved in procuring the coffin and conducting the burial. He identified the arrested individuals as Uzochukwu Okeke, 47, Fidel Anayo, 60, and Ikenna Anene, 54, all from Abagana.

Ikenga disclosed that during interrogation, Ekwenugo admitted that her boyfriend, Ifeanyi Igwe, along with three others, was responsible for setting the elderly woman ablaze. He assured that efforts were ongoing to apprehend Igwe, while the victim’s body had been deposited in the morgue for an autopsy and further investigation.

Reacting to the gruesome incident, Commissioner of Police Nnaghe Obono Itam urged residents to remain calm and ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department for a thorough probe.