Metro News

UK-based Nigerian accuses brother-in-law of killing sister, laments police handling of probe

Published

5 years ago

August 16, 2021

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A United Kingdom-based Nigerian businessman, Romeo Ozoagu, has expressed displeasure over the police handling of investigation into the death of his sister, Eucharia Okonkwo.

Ozoagu is accusing his brother-in-law, Ignatius Okonkwo, of alleged culpability in the death.

According to reports, Ozoagu said that Ignatius, a resident of Sixth Avenue, FESTAC Town, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, was arrested and detained by the police for the alleged murder of his wife, but was freed without an investigation.

He said he was in the UK on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, when he received a call from Ignatius that his 55-year-old sister had died without an explanation as to the cause of death.

He said he immediately sent his cousin, Ezenwa, and his younger brother, Hillary, to visit his sister’s house, but they were not allowed to see her remains and Ignatius did not take them to the mortuary, where he deposited the corpse.

He said, “My brother-in-law, Mr Ignatius Okonkwo, who lives on Sixth Avenue, FESTAC, Lagos, called me around 7.03am on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, to inform me that my sister, Eucharia Okonkwo, was dead. I live in London. I had spoken to my sister three days before that day. I immediately called my younger brother, Hilary Ozoagu, and cousin, Ezenwa, to visit my sister’s house to verify the information, because I was still in shock. On Thursday, they met Ignatius to find out what really happened.

“He told them that it was raining heavily overnight and he went to his wife’s room to check if the windows were closed. The people I sent requested that he take them to the mortuary, where the corpse was deposited, but he refused. I then instructed my brother to report the case at the FESTAC Police Station.”

It was gathered that before policemen got to his apartment, Ignatius had allegedly absconded.

Romeo added that the case was also reported at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, but the suspect was nowhere to be found when policemen from there visited his home.

He said Ignatius remained in hiding for 22 days with his location discovered to be somewhere in Ogun State and later Enugu State when the police tracked his phone, adding that he was shocked when the police asked him to provide vehicles and logistics for them to apprehend the suspect in Enugu.

Ozoagu said Ignatius was arrested by policemen from the SCIID when he returned to Lagos to apologise for absconding.

He stated, “The FESTAC DPO arranged for some policemen to go to Ignatius’ house and get him arrested. On their way, one of the police officers, who is his close friend, sent him a text message to escape through the fence. After this, my brother reported the case at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba.

“When officers from Panti came to the place to arrest him, he had locked his gate and switched off his phone. He was nowhere to be found for 22 days. We paid the police to track him; his first location was in Ogun State and later Enugu State. Policemen at Panti were not as helpful as they wanted us to provide logistics, including vehicles, to apprehend him in Enugu.

“He was advised at Enugu to return to Lagos and meet with Hillary, my brother, so that they could go to the mortuary and see my sister’s corpse. He called Hilary and apologised for initially fleeing. Hillary invited him to his house in a bid to settle the matter and alerted the police of the arrangement. That was how he was arrested.”

Ozoagu added that he saw the suspect in police custody when he got to Nigeria on May 27, but that Ignatius was released on the same day and was rearrested and taken into custody on June 15.

He stated, “I arrived in Nigeria and went to the police on May 27 to see the suspect and demanded an autopsy to determine the cause of my sister’s death. The police said I couldn’t make that kind of demand. Meanwhile, we were unaware that Ignatius had been secretly released from Panti. One of the things that surprised me was that my sister’s doctor, Declan Nwaigwe, who pronounced her dead on the day he visited the house, said she had been dead for 48 hours before he got there, meaning that my sister died on Sunday, April 25, 2021.

“One of my sisters at FESTAC saw Ignatius in the neighbourhood and called me to ask if the case was over. I told her that nothing of such had happened and that he was supposed to be in police custody. He was rearrested on June 15.”

The 59-year-old businessman said that the case was eventually transferred to the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos, on May 15 at the request of his lawyer, but things became more complex when the police demanded that he should pay all the mortuary, transportation and autopsy bills before an investigation into the matter could be concluded.

He said that he declined the request, adding that the deceased’s husband should bear the mortuary cost since he deposited the corpse there.

“I asked the police to tell Ignatius to pay for keeping the corpse in the mortuary. I even offered to split other bills with him, but he refused. He said I must pay the entire bills because I was the one who brought the case to the police and that he would only pay the mortuary bill if I agreed that the corpse would be buried without an autopsy.

“The police were also telling me to settle all the bills if I wanted an investigation into the case, because the government didn’t have resources for such. They are frustrating me. The police have refused to investigate the case or charge the suspect. I need all the help I can get.”

Related Topics:brother-in-law Sister UK-based

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Metro News

NDLEA arrests South African woman with drug shipments, seizes large consignment of drugs at Lagos airport

Published

12 hours ago

October 11, 2026

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have arrested a South African, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 32.74 kilogrammes, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the drugs were concealed in two travelling bags.

The statement added that the suspect travelled from Thailand through Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431.

“She confessed to having previously trafficked through other African countries, and was expanding her route to Port Harcourt when she was caught.”

Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted a shipment of 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg weighing 307.20kg from Pakistan.

Babafemi said the consignment arrived aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight on September 29 and was placed under surveillance before a joint examination on Tuesday, October 6, uncovered the drugs in nine cartons.

In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers intercepted 70 parcels of Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, weighing 75.90kg in six Ghana-Must-Go bags contained in a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom.

The statement said the shipment was monitored after arriving on September 29.

A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30, while an Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, 54, was apprehended while collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi.

The agency said Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were subsequently arrested when they came to collect the remaining five bags.

According to Babafemi, Ajibola said the drugs were sent by a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu claimed his consignment came from another UK-based man identified as Yusuf.

In Cross River State, NDLEA operatives arrested 46-year-old Adama Inuwa at Iyala Nkun village, Ikom Local Government Area, on Sunday, October 4, following surveillance.

Babafemi said the operation led to the recovery of 181 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,100kg and 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.

In Edo State, officers intercepted a black Toyota Camry conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on Monday, October 5.

The agency said Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

In a separate raid at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, operatives arrested 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.

In Ondo State, a 21-year-old suspect, Happy Endurance, was arrested at her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5, with 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290kg.

The statement added that a separate raid on an apartment at Oba-Ile, Akure, on the same day led to the arrest of 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351kg.

In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on Friday, October 9.

Babafemi said the suspects were found with 166,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 107kg.

In Kano State, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road on October 9 led to the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.

In Kaduna State, operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Musa with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027kg.

The agency also arrested Musbau Balogun Adekunle in Orile, Lagos, on Tuesday, October 6, with 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16kg.

In Plateau State, NDLEA operatives raided the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju at Rukuba Road, Jos, on Thursday, October 8, recovering methamphetamine, firearms and ammunition.

According to the statement, the items seized included 47 grammes of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, one locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.

The agency said its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign also continued across the country, with lectures delivered to students and staff of schools in Oyo, Ebonyi, Niger, Kano, Lagos and Ogun states.

Among the institutions reached were Progressive Grammar School, Tede, Oyo State; Eghugo Technical College, Afikpo, Ebonyi State; Baptist High School, Lambata, Niger State; and Ipara Senior and Junior Community Secondary School, Badagry, Lagos State.

Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised personnel of the Lagos, MMIA, PHIA, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau Commands.

Babafemi said Marwa commended the officers “for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations” and urged them “to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.”

Metro News

NDLEA arrests 83-year-old ex-convict with Colorado, meth in Abia

Published

14 hours ago

October 11, 2026

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have rearrested an 83-year-old grandmother, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, with consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado.

The arrest comes barely a year after the grandmother was convicted of drug-related offences.

Uloma was first arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

According to Babafemi, the octogenarian was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, with the substances allegedly tied around her waist with a wrapper.

Her arrest followed credible intelligence indicating that she operated a notorious drug joint allegedly harbouring criminal elements terrorising the community.

During her first arrest in May, operatives recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol from the Uloma and her daughter.

According to the statement, “Both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000 each. They paid the fine and were released by the court”

The NDLEA spokesman alleged that the elderly woman returned to the illicit drug trade after her release.

“Undeterred, the notorious old woman promptly returned to the criminal trade and escalated the scale by setting up a drug joint where she harbours dangerous characters,” the statement added.

Metro News

Varsity lecturer dies after sex romp with prostitute in hotel room

Published

4 days ago

October 7, 2026

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A senior lecturer at the Edo State-owned Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, identified as Dr. Matthew Uwuigbe, has repeatedly died in a hotel room after an alleged sexual encounter with a 21-year-old commercial sex worker, identified as Angela Defa Jacob.

The incident, according to a report by Punch online, happened on Sunday at a hotel in the Mosco area of Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

It was gathered that the lecturer had checked into the hotel with the sex worker and died moments after the romp.

Spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, Eno Ikoedem, who confirmed the incident, said three persons have been arrested in connection with the incident.

She said, “On October 5, 2026, at about 8 pm, the command received a report that Matthew Uwuigbe, a lecturer at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, had lodged at a hotel in Ekpoma and engaged the services of a 21-year-old sex worker, Angela Defa Jacob.

“He subsequently sent the woman to purchase water for him, and upon her return, she found him lying dead in the room.”

Ikoedem said the hotel owner, the manager and the sex worker are currently in custody while investigation continues. The corpse, she added, has been deposited at the Oriaifo Memorial Hospital mortuary.

The university’s Public Relations Officer, Otunba Mike Ade Aladenika, confirmed that Uwuigbe is a staff member of the institution, but said the incident occurred outside the campus.

“We are not denying that he is our staff, but whatever he did and what happened, it is his private life. The girl in question is not our student, and everything happened outside our institution,” he told the News outlet.