Police arrest man who murdered ex-girlfriend, hid body in sack

The police in Anambra State have arrested a man, Chima Ofoeke, who allegedly murdered his former girlfriend, Mmesoma Umeorini, in Uga, a community in Aguata Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said the arrest followed a report by the victim’s mother to the Divisional Police Officer in Umuchu Division that her daughter had been missing since 16 October.

“Acting on intelligence-led information, police operatives, in collaboration with members of the Agunechemba security outfit in Uga, arrested the suspect, who was identified as the deceased’s alleged former boyfriend,” he said.

The spokesperson said the suspect, from Ebonyi State, confessed during preliminary investigation that he murdered the victim because she broke up with him.

He said the suspect subsequently led police detectives to the location where the remains of the deceased were recovered.

Mr Ikenga said the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, Nnanna Ama, has ordered that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department Awka, for “a comprehensive and diligent investigation.”

Mr Ama, according to the statement, reiterated the commitment of the police in the state to protect lives and property and urged members of the public to promptly report cases of missing persons and other suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities.

“Further developments will be communicated as the investigation progresses,” he assured.

Viral video clip

A video clip obtained by PREMIUM TIMES showed when security operatives arrested the suspect and interrogated him.

In the clip, the suspect was holding a dirty sack which he confessed contained the body of his former girlfriend.

He also confessed that he murdered the victim on a Friday because she ended their romantic relationship

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Asked how he murdered the victim, he responded in Igbo language: “I held her neck with her clothes and strangled her until she collapsed.”

Some voices in the background of the clip suggested that the victim’s body must have been cut into pieces to enter the sack.

Prohibited in Nigeria

Murder is outlawed in Section 315 (6) of the Nigeria Criminal Code Act.

Offenders, on conviction, face death sentence, section 319 (1) said.

Several persons have been sentenced to death for murder across the country.

An Aiyetoro High Court in Ogun State, for instance, sentenced a man, Adelake Bara, to death by hanging in June 2022, for shooting and killing one Olaleye Oke.

A high court in Lokoja, Kogi State, in January 2022, also sentenced a man, Muritala Dare to death by hanging for stabbing his colleague to death with a broken bottle.