MixCollage 23 Oct 2024 12 35 AM 3207 scaled

Failed fortification: Enugu police arrest native doctor, father over son’s death

Enugu State Police Command has confirmed the death of a young man during a failed fortification.

DAILY POST recalls that news went viral of a young man whose father took to a native doctor for fortification, but he died one hour after he was buried alive.

In a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday night, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Command, said the suspects have been arrested.

According to him, “The Enugu State Police Command is making the public aware of the recent occurrence and handling of two separate murder cases.

“In the first case, a native doctor, one Enuwa Odugu “m”, aged 48, and Uwakwe Eze “m”, aged 67, were arrested for conspiracy and murder of Eze’s 26-year-old son, one Chikwado Celestine Eze.

“The incident is alleged to have occurred when Uwakwe Eze took his son to the native doctor’s shrine for rituals intended to fortify him with charms. However, during the ritual, the deceased was buried in a coffin but he unfortunately died in the process.

“He was rushed to the hospital and confirmed dead by the attending doctor, and his body deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.

“The native doctor confessed to the crime and the previous performance of such rituals, attributing the death of the victim to his non-adherence to certain ritualistic rules he earlier prescribed for him.

“The case is under investigation, and the suspects will be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded.”

Ndukwe added that “the second case involves the arrest of one Okoro Chukwuebuka Kingsley “m”, aged 24, and Ogbonna Samuel Chiedozie “m”, aged 18, for also conspiring and murdering 52-year-old Mrs. Patience Nkem Charles. The crime was motivated by a grudge Kingsley held from his time as her former security guard in 2021.

“The suspects confessed to strangling the victim in her home, leading to their arrest through police intelligence. They have already been arraigned in court and remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Custodial Centre.

“Both cases showcase serious criminal activities linked to personal grievances and harmful traditional practices, with the police actively investigating and prosecuting those involved.”