Land Dispute: Man, 83, Dies Days After Being Tied To A Tree

The police in Enugu have arrested a man, Daniel Ekemezie, over the death of his uncle, Pa Patrick Odoh, who was allegedly tied to a tree and left to die five days after.

This was made known to pressmen in a statement by the police public relations officer, PPRO, of the Enugu State Police Command, Mr Ebere Amaraizu.

Amaraizu said the murder of Pa Patrick Odoh, an octogenarian, which took place in Ukpata community in Uzo Uwani local government area of the state, was allegedly caused by a land dispute between the deceased and the suspected killer.

According to the PPRO, the suspect, Daniel Ekemezie, also known as Bakassi, was apprehended barely a month after the dastardly act, following intelligence gathering by the police. The suspect had since confessed to the crime even as he blamed the devil for his actions.

The suspect, a father of two, told the police during interrogation that he went to his uncle’s house in the night of March 4, 2017, and dragged the deceased to a forest where he committed the abominable crime.

Quoting the suspect, Amaraizu said, “On getting to the place, I woke my uncle up and tied his mouth with cloth to avoid him shouting, while I whisked him quietly that evening to Iyimkpafu/Ofiakputu forest in our community. I tied him on a tree with a rope and left him till March 8, 2017.  When I discovered after 5 days that he was dead, I buried him in a shallow grave.”

The PPRO said the suspect led the police investigative team to the grave where the decomposed remains of the deceased were exhumed.

The suspect is helping the police in further investigation and will be arraigned as soon as investigation is concluded.