Anambra State Government through the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, has waded into the case of a 74-year old woman allegedly burnt to death in her wheelchair in Abagana, Njikoka Local Government Area.
The criminal act was said to have been carried out by four suspects including 21-year old Chinenye Ekwenugo; 47 year old Uzochukwu Okeke; 60-year old Fidel Anayo and Ikenna Anene aged 54 years.
Items recovered at the crime scene were the burnt remains of the deceased, her wheelchair, and a casket.
Speaking after visiting the scene of the crime, the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo decried the high rate of homicide in the state and stated that the case will be charged to court in order to get justice for the matriarch.
Mrs Obinabo further promised that the state government would not relent until justice was served.
The suspects though initially denied knowing what happened to the 74 year old but later accepted that they were around after the fire incident but Chinenye confessed that her boyfriend Ifeanyi Igwe who is currently at large and three others set the victim ablaze and got a casket to bury her before the intervention of security operatives.
Newsmen discovered that the scene of crime was totally cleared, the walls washed off, and burial already set before they were intercepted by the police.
Further investigation showed that the children of the deceased did not take any action when they heard of their mother’s death.
While some speculated that she was killed because of the properties her late husband left behind, others were of the opinion that she was killed to avoid burdening her eight daughters.
