By Chuks Eke—
An Otuocha High Court No. 3 in Anambra State, sitting in Onitsha and presided over by Justice Tagbo Anieto, has ordered the remand of four individuals accused of conspiracy and the homicide of a female nurse who was seven months pregnant.
They will be held at Onitsha Correctional Centre pending the preparation and formal presentation of charges.
Justice Anieto gave the order shortly after a police investigator presented the accused before the court. He also directed that the case file be transferred to the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for onward submission to the State Attorney-General, to prepare the charges for their trial.
The accused are Somtochukwu Nwafor (female), and three men: Anachuna Onyeka, Abraham Onwe, and Chibunna Nwafor (also known as Offornwadile or Offornwatadile), a traditional healer.
According to the police investigator, on 24th July 2025, at Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State, they allegedly conspired to murder Ngozi Ekebe, who was seven months pregnant, purportedly for ritualistic purposes.
The investigator stated that the first, second, and fourth accused are from Ogbunike in the Oyi Council Area, while the third accused is from Ebonyi State.
The victim, originally from Enugwu Ezike in Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, resided in Ogbunike, where she worked as a nurse. On the day of the incident, she was allegedly lured to a suspect’s compound – currently at large – under the false pretence of providing medical treatment for his ailing mother.
The investigator further alleged that upon entering the suspect’s house in Umueri village, Ogbunike, the accused conspired and allegedly hacked Ms. Ekebe to death.
They then removed some of her body parts for ritualistic purposes before disposing of her dismembered and mutilated body in a soakaway pit.
The investigator also alleged that Somtochukwu Nwafor, the 24-year-old female and fourth accused, suspected to be the girlfriend of the fleeing prime suspect, was first arrested on 25th July – the day after the murder – while assisting with cleaning the crime scene.
She confessed that the missing body parts had been sold to a local traditional healer, Chiemelie Obika Elobisi (also known as Obitex), another prime suspect who remains at large.
The investigator added that Ms. Nwafor’s confession led to the arrest of Chibunna Nwafor, also a traditional healer, whose shrine was raided by angry youths of Ogbunike, where the victim’s body parts were recovered.
[Image caption: The accused persons]
