By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Anambra State Police Command has arraigned two young men before a High Court sitting in Onitsha over the alleged murder of a businessman, Mr. Ikechukwu Simon Nwite, and the theft of millions of naira belonging to the deceased.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed this in a statement to newsmen on Wednesday, March 25, adding that the suspects were arrested and prosecuted by operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) after detailed investigation into the incident.
According to the police spokesman, the prime suspect, Chiemerie Anieke, aged 21, allegedly murdered his employer, Mr. Ikechukwu Nwite, by str!king him on the head with a pestle, an att@ck which reportedly resulted in the victim’s de@th. He added that the suspect was also linked to another v!olent att@ck on the sister of the deceased, one Ms. Ogechukwu Nwite, at the Fegge area of Onitsha.
SP Ikenga stated that the prime suspect was arraigned before the High Court, Onitsha, alongside another suspect, Godwin Nnabuike Nwokporo, also aged 21, who was alleged to have aided the crime by providing a bank account through which more than eight million naira belonging to the deceased was fraudulently transferred after the k!lling. He explained that investigations revealed how the funds were moved shortly after the incident, prompting the police to track the financial transactions, which led to the arrest of the suspects.
The PPRO further disclosed in the statement that operatives of the Command successfully recovered the sum of six million naira (N6,000,000) from the suspects, being part of the money allegedly stolen from the late businessman. The recovered cash, according to the Command, has been tendered as exhibit before the court as part of the ongoing prosecution of the case.
The statement added that following the arraignment of the suspects on March 18, 2026, the court ordered that they be remanded at a correctional facility pending the continuation of trial and further legal proceedings.
While reaffirming the resolve of the Command to tackle crime across the state, the Police Spokesman warned members of the public against engaging in criminal activities, stressing that offenders will always be tracked down and brought to justice.
“The Anambra State Police Command reiterates its commitment to ensuring that justice is served and warns individuals against engaging in criminal activities, as the long arm of the law will always catch up with offenders,” he concluded.
Recall that the prime suspect, Chiemerie Anieke, an apprentice, in mid February this year, used a pestle to att@ck his Boss, Mr. Ikechukwu Nwite, a medicine dealer after a brief altercation at his residence at No. 2 Enyiuko Street, Fegge Onitsha.
Reports have it that Chiemerie returned late at about 12 midnight that fateful Sunday, and his Boss asked him to go back to wherever he was coming from, having warned him severally over returning home late from unknown place.
It was further gathered that Chiemerie got infuriated at his Boss, sneaked into the kitchen picked up a pestle h!t him hard on his head, resulting in his coll@pse and eventual de@th.
Thereafter, the suspect also reportedly sneaked into the room where the sister of his Boss, Ms. Ogechukwu, was innocently sleeping, and also h!t her with the same pestle to the point that she miraculously got up and escaped for her life. She was later rushed to the hospital as she became unconscious, while her brother, Mr. Nwite, who was also rushed to a different hospital, was confirmed de@d.
Shortly after the att@cks, suspect and his friend, one Godwin Nnabuike Nwokporo, later connived and stole the sum of eight million naira from one of his master’s accounts, another heinous crime that helped the police in tracking, identifying, arresting, detaining and investigating them, till their eventual arraignment before the court.
