By Stanley Nwanosike
The Police in Enugu State have arrested five persons over alleged planting of fetish materials, popularly known as `Juju’, in a parcel of land, leading to the death of one Thomas Ezeugwu.
The Command’s spokesman, SP Ebere Amaraizu, said in a statement on Wednesday in Enugu that the mysterious death happened in Nkpologwu town in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.
Amaraizu said that the deceased was said to have slumped and died on Oct. 6 in the morning.
“Following his death, the deceased corpse was brought to his home town Nkpologwu in Uzouwani Local Government Area for burial formalities.
“As if the spirit of the deceased was hunting his alleged killers, it was gathered that as the mourning was going on, one Okolo Nicholas, Peter Ezugwu and Augustine Ezeugwu all from the same town but resident in Onitsha, Anambra, started confessing.
“The three persons, who came for burial ceremony of the deceased, allegedly called the villagers and told them how they conspired and brought Juju from Omor Town of Anambra which was invoked into their disputed land.
“They said that they took the action since the deceased sold 20 plots of the communal land without their consent,’’ he said.
Amaraizu said that on the strength of their confessions, the police swung into action to “investigate the invocation of Juju and trial by ordeal to wit-murder against the suspects, Peter Ezeugwu, Nicholas Oko and Augustine Ezeugwu”.
“The three suspects during further investigations revealed how they conspired and went to Omor Town and invoked Juju on the said land, on the ground that whoever enters the land will die.
“They submitted that the deceased may have entered the land, hence his sudden death.
“Following their official revelations, the two native doctors involved in the invocation of the juju and trial by ordeal, who gave their names as Obu Madubuike and Okafor Okoye, all from Omor town, were arrested.
“The native doctors confirmed that they were met by the three suspects for invocation of juju and that it was targeted at whoever that would enter the said land,’’ he said.
Amaraizu said that the command had commenced investigation into the matter to get to the root of the whole issue.
