Two suspects, Emmanuel Nnabueze Nnakezie and Clement Nnakezie, have been arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Awkuzu, in Anambra State Police Command, for their alleged involvement in the gruesome murder of three members of the same family whose bodies were discovered in a shallow grave in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area.
The victims have been identified as Robert Nnakezie (male, 67 years old), Ikechukwu Obi (male, 14 years old), and Ukamaka Efione (female, two years old).
The two young victims were reported to have visited during the school holidays.
Nnabueze, aged 33, and 69-year-old Clement were apprehended on Sunday, May 3 by the operatives following a painstaking investigation triggered by credible information on the sudden disappearance of the victims.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed the arrest, said that the operatives, acting on intelligence, trailed and apprehended the suspects in two different locations – Oba and Ukpor.
According to SP Ikenga, preliminary investigation indicated that the killing might have resulted from a dispute over the ownership of a bitter kola tree and other inherited parcels of land.
“During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime and led the police to the site where the victims were buried in a shallow grave,” the PPRO stated.
He added that the remains of the victims had been exhumed and deposited in a morgue for autopsy.
The Commissioner of Police, Dr Ikioye Orutugu, who condemned the act and described it as barbaric and unacceptable, assured members of the public that the Command would ensure that justice is served.
