The Abia Police Command says it has arrested two suspects in connection with the alleged murder of two brothers, Bright and Victory Osuagwu, in Osisioma, near Aba.
The command’s Spokesman, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.
Bright and Victor, aged nine and seven, were allegedly strangled to death in their house in Osisioma on Good Friday, while their parents, Mr. Chima Osuagwu and wife, were away.
Ogbonna said the principal suspect, Chukwuebuka Nnamani, was arrested with the help of his alleged accomplice, Temple Amanna, who was caught by people in the neighbourhood, while attempting to burgle the house of the deceased’s parents.
He said that Amanna, who allegedly aided Nnamani to kill the boys, returned to burgle the Osuagwu’s house.
He said that the deceased’s parents were reportedly rushed to hospital after they suffered shock from the murder of their two children, leaving their house empty.
Ogbonna said that Amanna, who lived in the same neighbourhood, took advantage of the absence of the occupants to sneak into the house to steal.
“It was while he was in the house that a neighbour, who heard some noise inside, rushed in and held him and shouted for support from other neighbours,” he said.
The police spokesman said that Amanna, who was almost lynched by the mob, later confessed that the principal suspect was paid N80,000 to kill the two children.
“He also told the angry crowd that Nnamani paid him N20,000 to assist him to commit the dastardly act.
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“He told the police that he was watching the environment for Nnamani to ensure that no one entered the place, while he strangled the boys to death,” he said.
He said that Amanna later led the mob to Nnamani’s place, where his father reportedly held him back from escaping.
“His father handed him over to the crowd, which later invited the police to pick him up,” Ogbonna said.
He said the command had commenced full investigation into the matter and would soon get to the root of it.
Meanwhile, the father of the deceased, who is a trader at Ariaria International Market, Aba has appealed for Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s intervention to ensure that all the people involved in the killing of his children were arrested and made to face justice.
He told NAN that he was afraid that those who allegedly paid Nnamani to kill their children might return to attack him and his wife in order to escape justice.
According to him, the delay in arresting those that sponsored the killing of their children poses a threat to their own lives. (NAN)
