Pandemonium in Enugu community as suspected herdsmen kill woman in farm

THERE was pandemonium in Ndiuno Nchatancha community near Enugu State capital on Thursday as youths in the area staged a protest over the alleged killing of a woman whose name was given as Mrs. Pat Ngwu from the community by suspected herdsmen.

The woman who was said to have been abducted from her farmland by unknown gunmen on Wednesday was found dead in a bush near a stream on Thursday morning.

It was gathered that several machete cuts were found on the lifeless body of the woman, who went to her farm Wednesday afternoon with a wheelbarrow to harvest cassava but never returned home.

Further checks revealed that when the deceased could not return home her husband raised an alarm and a search party was organised to look out for her. The search in the farmland and nearby bush Wednesday night yielded no result as only the wheelbarrow and her machete were seen.

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According to the eyewitnesses, information was received from passersby on Thursday morning that the mutilated corpse of a woman was dumped by Asaba stream.

When the youths rushed to the place they discovered that it was the missing woman that was killed.

“We found several machete cuts on her body including the head and neck with her pant removed and we are suspecting that she must have been attacked and raped by bandits in the bush,” a native of Nchatancha said.

Irked by the development, youths went wild in a protest in Nchatancha and Obinagu communities on Thursday over the murder of the woman in the community.

They marched through the streets and blocked the Enugu -Abakaliki highway at Eke Obinagu market area and Annunciation Hospital junction, burning tyres and beating people including travelers.

Some vehicles were reportedly damaged by the youths who threatened to go after the bandits wherever they reside within the community to revenge the woman’s death.

Security operatives from Emene Police Division were said to have brought the situation under control and later took the corpse of the woman to Annunciation Hospital mortuary in Emene.

When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu, said the command had already commenced investigations into the murder of the woman.

His words: ”Following the report of the incident of alleged murder case of a woman inside a farmland at Nchatancha community in Emene, Enugu state received by the command today (Thursday), the Commissioner of Police, Suleiman Balarabe has directed full scale investigations with a view to establishing what actually happened and persons involved and their motives amongst others.

“The command further advises members of the public to continue to be law-abiding and avoid anything that will truncate the existing peace and security in the state as security operatives will leave no stone unturned towards unmasking those behind the dastardly act.

“Meanwhile, the corpse of the said deceased woman has been deposited at the mortuary of the Annunciation hospital for autopsy.”