Friends and family members have mourned a 25-year-old lady, Ogochukwu Viola Anele, who was murdered in Imo State.
The graduate of the Imo State University, was laid to rest on Saturday, May 27, 2023, in her hometown, in Umuori Umuafai in Dikenafai Ideato South Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that she was found brutally murdered in a man’s house in Ikeduru Local Government Area on February 7, 2023. It’s not clear how she ended up in the suspect’s house and why he allegedly killed her.
According to her distraught father, Cosmas Anele, a retiree, the police asked him to pay N60,000, before they could take him to the scene of the crime and also, to the mortuary where her body was deposited.
In a video which went viral on social media after the murder, Mr. Anele, a resident of Umudagu, Mbieri, said that Ogochukwu, his second daughter, who worked with a payment company, did not return home on Tuesday, February 7.
He said that Ogochukwu had earlier in the day, at about 2 pm, communicated with her mother on the telephone and assured her that she would be back.
“She usually returned home at 6 pm”, he said.
But on that fateful day, she failed. She could not make it home. That was the beginning of heartache for her family,”
According to Mr. Anele, the family went into prayers hoping to see her back home. They kept vigil and prayed. They also called her telephone line which rang out until it stopped ringing.
The next morning, Mr. Anele left home and went searching. He reported a case of a missing girl at the nearest Police station. He also took his search to the office of the Department of State Services (DSS) hoping that his daughter will be among some persons said to have been detained at the place. He could not find her there.
Mr. Anele said he was on his way to the Police Station on Mbaise Road (Fire Service) when his other kids called to inform him that someone had responded to a call made to Ogochukwu’s phone.
The call came from the Police Station at Iho, in Ikeduru local government area of the state. That was when his fear heightened. He wondered how she ended up at faraway Iho. So, he raced down.
He was directed to go back to the State Criminal Investigations Department where the news of the murder of his daughter was broken to him by the officer in charge when he asked “are you the father of the deceased girl?”
He said he asked to see her body to actually confirm it was her. However the police allegedly demanded N60,000 from him. He said he tried to strike a bargain but they allegedly refused.
“They refused and insisted on N60,000,” he said.
Mr. Anele said he grudgingly made a transfer, and was led out to a house where he saw blood everywhere.
It was the blood of his daughter spilled all over the floor. He broke down and cried. He later discovered that the man, who accompanied them on the trip, was the occupant of the room and the alleged murderer.
Afterward, he was led to see her remains at the mortuary.
