The Enugu State Police Command, Tuesday, confirmed the arrest of one Mr Nweke Chukwuemeka, aged 30, for allegedly murdering a four-year-old-girl at Nsukka in Enugu State.
The incident, NewsNGR had reported, occurred on August 18, 2024, around 10:30pm. The suspect was arrested by police operatives serving in the Nsukka Sector of the Enugu State Command’s Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad.
A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed that the incident occurred at a compound at Orba Road in Nsukka.
It read, “The operatives consequently arrested the suspect who was alleged to have gruesomely murdered the female child, Zinachukwu Ugwu, in cold blood while she was sleeping.
“The lifeless body of the child was taken to the hospital, confirmed dead, and deposited in the mortuary. Additionally, the knife used by the suspect to commit the crime, quantities of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp, and an object suspected to be a charm were recovered from him.”
Ndukwe said a preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect hails from Umuagu-Ozalla in Nkanu West Local Government Area, but resides in the said compound with the child’s parents and others.
According to the statement, “The suspect initially attempted to attack other neighbours who resisted him and escaped before going into the victim’s apartment, where he saw the helpless child sleeping, and used the knife to cut through her throat. This was after the mother of the child had run out to take the other of her children to safety before coming back for the victim.
“Further revealed is that the suspect confessed to the crime, claiming that he acted alone but under the influence of Indian hemp, methamphetamine (locally known as “Mkpuru-mmiri”), and Action Bitters alcoholic drink he consumed earlier.
“He also confessed to being a member of the Vikings Confraternity and that in 2022, while residing in Jos, Plateau State, he was involved in a cult clash during which he murdered a male member of the rival cult group.”
Ndukwe said the suspect would be arraigned and prosecuted once investigations were concluded.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, has described the act as barbaric and unthinkable. He sympathised with the victim’s parents, siblings, and friends, assuring that everything possible would be done to secure justice for the innocent child.
He ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State CID Enugu to ensure that ongoing investigations were concluded, and the case prosecuted within record time.
The CP also urged the citizenry to, as much as possible, be conversant with the behavioural patterns of their neighbours to avert senseless incidents of this nature.