Man hanged for allegedly killing couple

A man simply identified as Dee Pee from Umuaku Isiala Mbutu community in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State was set ablaze by irate youths for al­legedly killing both husband and wife.

Odogwu Media gathered at the weekend that the suspect had on the May 30, 2016 trailed Mrs Ukachi Njoku who was from Umuaku Mbutu Ukwu, a neighbour­ing community also in Aboh Mbaise council, to her farm where he allegedly hacked her to death and removed her private parts apparently for ritual purposes.

It was learnt that Mr. Rowland Njoku who had also gone to the farm to join the wife was also attacked and killed by the suspect. But their assailant who es­caped from the farm had inadvertently left one of his pair of shoes.

It was reliably gathered that the villagers who were alarmed that the couple had failed to return from the farm organised search party that went to their farm e the fol­lowing day.

It was in the process that the mutilated bodies of the couple were discovered hid­den in a nearby bush oppo­site the farm where they also picked up a pair of shoes of their suspected killer.

Investigation by the vil­lagers was reportedly re­vealed that the shoe belongs to the suspect, who had last year rent a one- room apartment at Umunama in Ezinihitte Mbaise Council Area.

Odogwu Media gathered that the delegates sent by the villagers met with the landlord of the house who reportedly con­firmed that Dee Pee was his tenant and that he had questioned him the previous day how he had sustained a wound on his right hand, but that he told him that he was involved in a fight.

The landlord, it was learnt, complained to the villagers that his tenant was a questionable char­acter and asked them to take him with them.

The suspect who was subsequently dragged by the angry youth to Eke Ugiri Market Square where he allegedly confessed to have gone home to kill his mother for rituals but that when he could not find his mother he decided to use Mrs. Ukachi Njoku in place of the mother. And that he had to kill the hus­band to cover up the crime.

It was at this point that the angry youths hung used tyres on his neck, sprayed him with fuel and set him ablaze.

However, a police source at Oke Ovoro Divisional Head­quarters who pleaded ano­nymity because he does not have the authority to speak, said that the police received information that there was trouble in Eke Ugiri adding that the team deployed to the scene was chased away by the mob.