Police Special Tactical Team have arrested a suspects allegedly involved killing and beheading of Anambra Lawmaker representing Aguata II Constituency in the State’s House of Assembly, Hon. Okechukwu Okoye, and his media aide, Mr. Cyril Chiegboka.
According to reports, the member of the Unknown Gummen gang, identified as Nnamdi Michael, who claimed to be a Commander in the group was arrested on Sunday.
The reports were corroborated by pictures and videos of the suspect which went viral on the social media.
The short note that accompanied the post reads “At about 1.35pm, today at Ebenator-Udene Village, Amichi, Nnewi South LGA, Nnamdi Michael, was arrested by special tactical teams.
“He was unveiled as part of gang operating as Unknown Gunmen UGM while enforcing Sit At Home order at Amichi, extorting money and causing mayhem.”
It was also seen in the viral video that the suspect confessed to be a murderer and a member of the deadly group, as he also revealed that he had killed only three persons since he joined the group.
“We only tied them to confess if they were politicians, but two died. It was only one that was shot dead,” The suspect said in Igbo language.
“As for the one that was beheaded, it was not me that beheaded him. I had not been made the Commander then, but I joined them during that operation. Our Commander then is now dead,” he added.
The suspect is currently in the police custody for further interrogations and investigation.
The viral social media post also identified a main accomplice of the suspect as Chikwendu Mbonu, who was tagged a witch doctor of Obiagu and declared to be at large, while his shrine has been destroyed.
However, in his reaction, the Spokesperson of the Anambra State Police Command, DSP Toochukwu Ikenga said he could not confirm the authenticity of the video, saying that the Imo State Police command was responsible for the arrest.
Moreso a 70-year-old native doctor, Chief Chukwujekwu Onuorah, aka Egbe-Ejiejeogu, suspected to be working for the gunmen that beheaded Okechukwu Okoye, has however been arrested.
He was said to have been traced to Unubi in Nnewi South local government area of Anambra State.
Anambra State Public Relations Officer, Mr Tochukwu Ikenga, however, declined to speak on the arrest, saying he would not want to speak on the matter so as not to jeopardise investigations.
He said: “We don’t want to disclose some of our strategies. Let them know that the police command is not folding its hands in unmasking these killers.”
“These things are intelligence-driven and there are already eyewitnesses. In due time, we will let Nigerians know as we will bring all the perpetrators to book.
“Please, help us to tell Nigerians that a lot is being done.”
Onuorah was technologically trailed after he was found to have used the beheaded lawmaker’s sim card to make criminal calls.
According to a civil society organization, Intersociety, the herbalist after exhausting the sim-card ‘credit’, completed the calls with his own cell phone.
According to Intersociety, the slayers of the beheaded lawmaker were earlier traced to Unubi where ransom running into millions of naira was physically delivered.
“The slayers collected the ransom and still went ahead to slay and decapitate the lawmaker. The cell phone of the slain lawmaker was put in monitoring devices during which it was found to have been used by EGBE-EJIEJEOGU to make several criminal calls days after he was beheaded. It was at this juncture that one of the ‘soft targets’ was arrested in Igboukwu leading to third party identification and location of the arrested kingpin.
“Between early hours of 28th (last Friday) and 29th (last Saturday) May 2022, the house of the arrested kingpin was raided after he was tracked to be at home. He made a magical escape after several gunshots were fired at him and he escaped by jumping into a ditch. After recovering several incriminating items including guns and bullets and his portrait, the operatives trapped him by leaving behind one of his cell phones. Between the late night of 30th May and the early hours of 31st May 2022, the cell phone was tracked to a private hospital in Awka forcing the operatives of the DSS to storm the clinic where he was arrested alive in a bandage while trying to board a tricycle (KEKE). The two ‘soft targets’ earlier arrested were freed same yesterday being 31st May 2022”
Meanwhile, women’s rights activist Laila St. Matthew-Daniel has reacted to the arrest of the alleged mastermind of Anambra lawmaker’s gruesome murder.
She berated the DSS for been partially competent.
Taking to Facebook on Thursday, June 2, Mrs Matthew-Daniel noted that security operatives captured the prime suspect using technology but can’t track bandits and kidnappers terrorising the North East.
“Can you see how DSS used technology to capture the alleged mastermind of the lawmakers killers! But they can”t track kidnappers in the North East.” she wrote.
