Senior lawyer, Ndieonyema Nwankwo was found dead in his Owerri office on Sunday, a victim of a gruesome murder.
Sixty-four year-old Nwankwo, who was a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association in the Imo state capital, was found, in a pool of blood, with machete cuts on his neck.
The police said they also found the machete used to attack the lawyer from Arochukwu, Abia state.
According to the account of Chinedu Agu, the NBA secretary in Owerri, Nwankwo had left his home for his office on Saturday, to work.
It was when he did not return home, that the family raised an alarm.
Imo State Police Public Relations Officer Orlando Ikeokwu, on Sunday, explained that when the command received the report of the murder, operatives were immediately deployed to Nwankwo’s office.
According to the PPRO, they met the lawyer’s lifeless body.
Ikeokwu noted that while taking a further look around the office, a machete with bloodstains, suspected to have been used in inflicting the cuts on him, was found on the floor.
He said it was also discovered that his car and other yet to be identified items were taken away.
The state Commissioner of Police, CP Nasiru Mohammed, has called for calm.
He has also ordered an investigation into the murder.
But the police may already have a clue to work on: Nwankwo’s driver, who took him to work in the vanished car, has not been seen.
Here is the narration by Chinedu Agu:
At about 8.15am today [Sunday] on my way to Church for 8.30am Mass, I received a call from the Chairman of the Bar, J.I Ogamba, Esq. detailing me to liaise with the former Secretary of the Bar, Ishmael Nkwocha Esq., to take Police to N.H Nwankwo & Co. at 43 School Road Owerri, to ascertain the safety of N.H Nwankwo, Esq. who left home for work yesterday Saturday the 6th day of February, 2021 and was yet to return from work.
However, earlier to the call, Ishmael Nkwocha, who shares same office space with him had, in response to frantic calls from his family members over the uncertainty of his whereabouts, gone to his office to meet same locked. On opening the Entrance door, he met Nwankwo’s main office locked and with traces of blood on the door to his (Nwankwo’s) office.
Not very sure of the situation he went to the Homicide Section of the State CID, going with him Forensic Experts from the Police Headquarters to the office to have it properly opened by themselves in order not to contaminate evidential materials.
When the forensic experts arrived at 9:56hrs with their gadgets, they opened the door only for us to find his bulky frame lying lifeless inside his office in a pool of his congealed blood.
On a closer inspection, Nwankwo appeared to have been savagely macheted by his Assailant, as a very gaping cut was seen on his neck, a monstrous cut of not less than of about 30cm with only about less than 50percent of the flesh in his neck region holding the head.
On a closer inspection, Nwankwo appeared to have been savagely macheted by his Assailant, as a very gaping cut was seen on his neck, a monstrous cut of not less than of about 30cm with only about less than 50percent of the flesh in his neck region holding the head.
Blood splashes were seen on the roof, fans, Printer, Computers, table, files, seats, books, bookshelves inside his office suggestive of a ferocious macheting of his neck.
Nwankwo was suspected to have been busy working as his Printer, Computer, Standing Fan were on while a writing pad containing jottings unrelated to this incident and a Pen were found on his Desk.
A bucket of water was seen in his office, with which the assailant must have washed his hands and Machete used in this act.
A search of the office revealed a machete abandoned inside the Toilet of his office with which the assailant was suspected to have used to cut his neck.
When his body which lay half prostrate was turned machete cuts were seen on his Wrist also and the footprints captured by forensic experts suggested the act was done by two persons as the two footprints were unidentical.
As at the time of this Provisional report, Forensic Experts are still gathering evidential materials for their use accompanied by myself, L.C Ugorji, Uche Osuji, Ishmael Nkwocha, J.I Ogamba, D.O Nosike and a host of other Lawyers.
Meanwhile, his Driver, who reportedly was the only person with him in the office on Saturday, is at the time of this report at large, with Nwankwo’s phones, and Car no where to be found.
Arrangement has just been concluded to take the lifeless body to the Morgue.
This is one death too many; one murder too savage!