Three arrested for killing, burying kidnapped victim in shallow grave inside forest

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Anambra State Police Command have recovered the remains of a victim, who was abducted and then murdered.

The Police have also arrested three people in connection with the crime.

The suspects are Obasi Faith Ezinne, 23, of Mbaitolu Imo State; Ntomchukwu Anabaraonye, 33, of Okija, Anambra State; and Abuchi Obinna, 26, of Ihiala, Imo State.

The suspects on August 30 allegedly abducted 34-year-old Henry Okam of Okija in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State.

They also killed the victim with a pump action gun and subsequently buried him in a shallow grave in a forest.

According to the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Haruna Mohammed, the suspects were arrested on September 5 following intensive manhunt.

Mohammed said: “The suspects, who voluntarily confessed to the crime, took operatives to a thick forest in Ihiala where the decomposing body of the victim was exhumed and recovered. The remains had been moved to the mortuary, awaiting autopsy. The pump action rifle, used by the suspects in perpetrating the heinous crime, including the victim’s phones were also recovered in their possession and registered as exhibits. The case is under investigation after which the suspects and their accomplices would be brought to book.”

The Anambra State Commissioner of Police, John Abang, said there was no hiding place for criminals in the state, especially since it was under his watch.

Abang said he would continue to watch, fish out and deal decisively with criminal elements in accordance with the law until they repent or relocate from the state.