A fatal love affair!

Presently, Miss Ifeoma Ezeorachi, a mistress to a murdered rich business man in Enugu-Nigeria, Prince Jacob Nwobodo, is standing trial for the killing of his erstwhile heart-rob. Nwobodo and 28 year old Ifeoma were lovers, and had, indeed, lived together for a period of six years before the latter (Nwobodo) got assassinated on August 12 this year.
54 year-old Nwobodo had, on the fateful day, dropped off his son, Jerry and another relation, at his Plot 9 Nkpokiti Road, Independent Layout, Enugu residence when he received a call from an unidentified caller. With a promise to rejoin the young men shortly, the estate giant immediately sped off to keep an appointment with his strange caller/s. Jerry had, incidentally, returned from his United States base to sort out some family matters with Dad.
But rather than return alive to rejoin Jerry and his elder brother, George, who had, equally, visited him from his Onitsha, Anambra state base, Nwobodo’s decomposing body was, four days after, precisely, on Saturday August 16, discovered in a bush in Agbani, Nkanu West council area of the state. Nwobodo’s assailants had, after killing him, smeared some substance, suspected to be acid, on his face, private parts and other vital organs.
Amidst police investigations, Nwobodo’s corpse was, on Saturday October 25, buried in his Ndiuno Amugo, Akpugo, Nkanu West council area home. But on Tuesday November 11, the state police command commenced the trial of Ifeoma, an indigene of Ejinadu village, Awka-Etiti, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra state, as one of Nwobodo’s alleged killers. In a two-count charge, numbered 746 C/2008, pending before Enugu North Magistrate Court 2, Ifeoma and others at large allegedly conspired amongst themselves to unlawfully kidnap and murder Nwobodo. The court is presided over by J.S Ede.
The charge reads: “That you, Ifeoma Ezeorachi ‘f’ and others at large on 12th of August between Nkpokiti Road and Achara Layout Road, Enugu in Enugu Magisterial District, did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: kidnapping and murder and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 494 of the criminal code, Cap. 30, Vol. 11, Laws of Enugu state of Nigeria 2004”. This offence is, also, punishable under Section 274 (1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 30, Vol. 11, laws of the state 2004.
Ede’s court, lacking jurisdiction in prosecuting the matter, directed transfer of the case file to the state’s Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Eze O. Eze, for legal advice. Adjourning the matter sine die (indefinitely), the court remanded the accused (Ifeoma) at Enugu prisons pending commencement of trial at the high court. The court bound witnesses over at the sum of N10, 000. 00. Barrister D.C Nwobodo led three others to defend the 28 year-old mistress of the slain Nwobodo in court.
Arraignment of Ifeoma notwithstanding, the deceased family has an axe to grind with the police investigating team over its alleged shoddy handling of investigation into this murder too many. The team is headed by Fabian Okoye, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and Officer in Charge of Homicide Section (D4), State Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Chief George Nwobodo, head of the deceased family, expresses his family’s disappointment concerning the arraignment of only Ifeoma in the murder of their son. George contends that police should have clinically investigated some tenants of the deceased estate who, in his life time, had disputes with him. Some of these tenants, according to George, were even with in court with his sibling before he was killed.
In particular, George said he had earlier, in his memo to the police, recommended investigation of the care-taker to his deceased brother’s buildings, Miss Ebere Onu, as well as one Nwankwo (alias Ojoko), and a retired soldier who, once, lived in the estate. But rather than thoroughly investigate these persons and others, George says police team hurriedly arraigned only Ifeoma.
The deceased family, also, protests police inability to have procured the identities of the callers of slain Nwobodo’s telephone handset before he was killed from the MTN Network. The police team, according to George, had demanded to be given N20, 000.00 to procure the call history which the family duly gave to them. Unfortunately, over a month after, Okoye’s team is yet to procure the call log from MTN before the seeming hasty arraignment of Ifeoma. The suspicion of the family is that the investigating cops would have diverted the money to their pockets.
“Police took N20, 000.00 from us to get the identities of all those who spoke with J.C before he was murdered. We gave the money to the 2/C to Commissioner of Police in the presence of Okoye. But till now, police has not said anything about our son’s phone and the money”, George said.
George regrets that the police shoddy investigation of the murder is despite his family’s co-operation to the investigating team.
“Sometimes, they asked us to give them this money or that money for investigation which we had always given to them. But now, we are not satisfied with their quality of investigation in this matter”, the grief-laden George laments.
Still, another gray area in the police investigation of Nwobodo’s assassination bothers on procedure. It would be recalled that counsel to the deceased family, Barrister Ray Nnaji, had petitioned the Police Inspector-General, Mike Okiro, over the murder. Nnaji, in the petition, dated August 18, 2008, asked Okiro to immediately intervene in the matter by ordering thorough investigation on the matter.
And the IG, subsequently, directed Enugu state police commissioner to investigate Nwobodo’s cold-blooded murder and forward his findings to his office. The IG’s directive is contained in a memo, dated August 25, 2008, signed by DSP James M. Mshelia, Principal Staff Officer II to Inspector-General of Police.
Nnaji, now, contends that the police were, in an ideal situation, supposed to communicate the outcome of their findings to the IG who, in the first instance, gave them the directive. But rather than that, the state command, according to Nnaji, went ahead to hurriedly arraign only one suspect. Nnaji is, therefore, of the opinion that the action of the police runs contrary to the tenets of due process in the organization.
While the family of the slain Nwobodo contemplates the next action to take in chasing justice over this gruesome murder of one of their own, the case file is currently before the state DPP for legal opinion. Whatever the DPP’s opinion turns out to be, the assassination of JEECEE is one of those puzzles the Nigeria police must resolve with dispatch.