Emene youth protest murder of housewife

Tension again boiled over in Enugu State today Wednesday, 22 August 2019, as youth of Nchatancha Nike community in Enugu East Local Government Area took to the streets to protest the killing of a 67-year old housewife, Mrs. Regina Mba, by criminals suspected to be herdsmen.

The murder is coming exactly three weeks after a Catholic reverend gentleman was brutally murdered in Awgu Local Government Area of the State.

Young men and women of Nchatancha spilled onto the ever-busy Enugu – Abakaliki highway where they made bonfires of tires and other flammable objects and chanted war songs against Fulani herdsmen whom they accused of the crime.

The protest led to a lockdown of highway around Emene, the community that hosts the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.
Police was called in and eventually succeeded in dispersing the crowd of protesters.

Villagers told newsmen that late Mrs. Mbah, went to the farm in the afternoon of the fateful day, 22 August 2019, but was not seen long after the sun went down, fueling fears that something must have happened to her.

A search party sent to look for her did not find any trace of the woman in the farmland where she went to. It was during today’s expanded effort, with more villagers mobilized for the search, that eventually led to the discovery of her body in the bush.

A member of the search party told newsmen that they saw the woman’s dead body lying by the side, pants torn and flung on one side, as well as deep stab wounds on her hands and at the back of her neck. This led the villagers to conclude that the woman was raped and subsequently stabbed to death.

Mr. Kingsley Anike, president general of Nchatancha Community, confirmed the identity of the victim and the invitation of the police after the discovery. He said the police had commenced investigations after examining the crime scene and taking the remains of Mrs. Mbah to the mortuary.
Police spokesman, Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed the report of the incident as well as the deposit of the victim’s remains at the Catholic Annunciation Hospital Enugu for autopsy to be performed to determine the cause of death.

News hunters learnt that the Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, is out of town but his deputy, Mrs. Cecelia Ezeilo, in company of the new member representing Enugu East/Nkanu/Isiuzo in the House of Representatives, Mr. Cornelius Nnaji, visited the community this afternoon.

At Nchatancha, Mrs. Ezeilo asked the youth to remain calm because the security agencies have been briefed and they will unravel the mystery surrounding the murder and bring the culprits to justice.

A statement signed by Secretary to the Government of Enugu State, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, “charged the security agencies to commence a full-scale investigation into the unfortunate incident with a view to apprehending and prosecuting the culprits.

There were also reports that another Catholic reverend gentleman was shot this week at another location in Enugu East. There was however no independent confirmation of the incident which has put Enugu residents on edge.

Share this knowledge