Monarch’s Murder: Lawyer Reports Enugu CP To PSC Over Investigation

Nwatu died on June 11 this year from injuries allegedly got after an attack on him by persons suspected to be his subjects. Four suspects had been arrested and charged to court by the police in connection with his death. But, in his petition dated September 17, 2018, Nnaji accused the Commissioner of Police and the Commander of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) in Enugu of unmitigated resolve to undermine the trial. He recalled that the case started with a threat to the life of the monarch, for which the principal suspects were arrested, but the Enugu State Police Command was unable to take firm control of the case until Igwe Steve Nwatu was murdered on June 11, 2018 in the company of five policemen assigned to him. He said as soon the traditional ruler was murdered the Enugu State Police Command commenced investigation and on July 24, 2018 hurriedly charged to court four suspects without completing investigation. The petitioner noted that credible evidence were excluded by the police, including an autopsy by a medical pathologist and evidence from the five police officers in the company of the traditional ruler on the day of his murder. He equally noted that there was no statement of the Igwe’s personal assistant and the driver who accompanied the monarch and witnessed the incident. Nnaji regretted that the principal suspects were allowed to get off police net and allowed to walk freely with no effort to arrest them. He frowned at the refusal of the Commissioner of Police to hand over the case file and his insistence on investigating the matter whereas the Inspector General of Police had directed FSARS Lagos to take over the case. He said luckily, the FSARS Lagos started investigating the case without case file, only for the Enugu State Police Command to hurriedly take it to the Director of Public Prosecution who charged the matter before a Chief Magistrate Court in Enugu North without strong evidence, calculated to ensure that the suspects escape justice for lack of evidence linking them to the crime. Nnaji disclosed that the FSARS in their investigation, arrested some suspects, including one Chinedu Nwodo who implicated another suspect, Rev. Kenneth Okechukwu of Methodist Church Ogbozinne Akpugu and the suspects were temporary detained at FSARS Enugu where the Commander attempted to release a suspect who was not his own. He said there was a near confrontation between FSARS Enugu and FSARS Lagos before the suspect (Okechukwu) was taken to Lagos for further investigation but the Commissioner of Police had been inundating FSARS Lagos with phone calls, demanding the release of the suspect on the claim that he was innocent of the crime.]]>