Murder of Anambra Chief: Investigate it thoroughly please, group urges Anambra govt, Police

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By Madu Obi

Concerned citizens of Nimo, Njikoka local government area of Anambra State, where a high profile chief, Engr Augustine Ezedinachi, was recently murdered, have

called on the government of Anambra State and the State Police command to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.

Ezedinachi was abducted at his farm in the village by gun totting masked men who tied his workers and then whisked him away.

Despite the payment of a ransom demand of N15m, the community was shocked by the discovery of the man’s body the next day, with his head and body badly mutilated.

Until his death, Chief Ezedinachi was a member of the Igwe’s cabinet in the community.

Worried by the delay in conducting the investigation, a group, Nimo Concerned Citizens for Good Governance, called on the authorities to ensure that justice was done.

Spokesman of the group, Mr Paul Ifesinachi, in a statement in Awka, said only the arrest and prosecution of those behind the killing would satisfy the family and the town.

The statement read: ‘While the family and community grieve, we call on the state government and the police authorities to investigate this crime and bring those who were involved or sponsors of this heinous crime to face full justice.

The gruesome murder of Chief Engr Augustine Ezedinachi of Nimo is one of the latest in the series of high profiles cases that ought to be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted if Anambra state is serious about fighting crime.

Chief Ezedinachi, an industrialist and farmer, was abducted at his farm in Nimo as he arrived in the morning. His workers had been tied by his abductors prior to his arrival.

Despite the fact that a huge ransom was paid, his body with badly mutilated skull, was found the next morning adjacent to a rear fence of his establishment."

The group lamented that Nimo has been engulfed in crisis for over a year now, especially after a court judgement sacking the de facto Town Union Executive.

It also noted that prior to the recent incident, a lawyer from the community had alleged that Chief Ezedinachi was to be announced the Chairman of a Caretaker Committee being established by the Anambra State government as an interim measure to calm the volatile community.

The statement further said: ‘Unfortunately on the day the Caretaker Committee was to be announced, Chief Ezedinachi was abducted.

But the subsequent announcement by the state government neither had Chief Ezedinachi as the chairman, nor a member of the Caretaker Committee.

It is thus not difficult to know why the perpetrators, who are likely sponsored hands, went ahead to not only abduct Chief Ezedinachi, but to murder him, even after the ransom requested was paid in US Dollars.

This sequence of events leading up to the abduction seriously suggests ties to the ongoing imbroglio within the Nimo Community, especially with the plethora of threats such as the voice notes and incitement by those who feel disappointed with the court sacking of the de facto Nimo Town Development Union executive.