The Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of 24-year-old Somtochukwu Nwafor for her alleged involvement in the murder and dismemberment of a pregnant nurse in Ogbunike, Oyi Local Government Area.
The suspect, according to the police, was apprehended by members of the Umueri village after the victim’s mutilated remains were discovered in a septic tank.
Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement posted on Facebook, said Nwafor was the girlfriend of the prime suspect, Chiemerie Elobisi, who is currently on the run. She reportedly confessed to cleaning the crime scene after the murder and aiding in the disposal of the victim’s body parts to native doctors for ritual purposes.
“She stated that she was contacted by the suspect to clean up the bloodstains after the victim was killed. She also disclosed that they sold body parts to native doctors operating within the community,” SP Ikenga said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim, a trained nurse, was lured to Elobisi’s residence under the pretext of offering her medical assistance. The motive, police say, was for ritual killing.
Following Nwafor’s confession, detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) raided a shrine belonging to a native doctor, Nwafor Chibunna Ofornwatadile, in the Itima Amawa village, Ogbunike. There, they recovered suspected human body parts wrapped in cellophane bags.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, condemned the act, describing it as “inhuman, criminal, and an affront to the sanctity of human life and public morality.”
A manhunt has now been launched for Elobisi and all other accomplices and buyers involved in the trafficking of human remains.
The police urged members of the public with relevant information to come forward, assuring that all tips would be treated in confidence.
