By Nehru Odeh
Like a scene out of one of Edgar Allan Poe’s horror stories, the Ebonyi State Police Command has arrested one Leonard Kelechi Nwali, a Labour Party House of Assembly aspirant, Ezza North Constituency in Ebonyi State who sent assassins to murder a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Peter Nweke JP in his polling unit during the governorship election on 18 March, 2023 and later prayed against himself on Facebook.
Nwali, who has confessed to the crime was arrested alongside three other suspects, Onyebuchi Chita Aloke Obinna and Ifeanyi Nwokpuku.
However the intriguing thing about this dastardly crime is that after Nweke had been gruesomely murdered, Nwali who had sent the killers took to his Facebook page the next day to mourn the loss, asking him to avenge his killers.
Nwali, posted the prayer on Facebook on 19 March alongside the picture of the slain PDP Chieftain thus, tagging Nweke, the deceased thus:.
“May your killers, those who thought about it, and those behind it never live to see anything good in life. May your death be better than theirs.
Never rest until you avenge your death Nweke Peter JP .”
Recall that Nweke, the deceased PDP Chieftain, was beaten and tortured to death at Umuezeokaoha community, in the Ezza North Local Government Area of the state, while working as the party’s agent for the gubernatorial polls in the area.
As reported by Punch, the Ebonyi State police command, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, SP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, said the suspects confessed to the crime.
The statement read in part, “During the interrogation of the suspects, the first suspect, Leonard Kelechi Nwali, a Labour Party House of Assembly aspirant, Ezza North Constituency, confessed to hiring the assailants who were meant to torture the late Peter Nweke. However, he died in the process. According to him, the late Peter Nweke posed a threat to his political ambition, so he contacted one Akwasi of Umuezeoka, in Ezza North LGA, who spearheaded the torture that eventually resulted in the death of Mr Peter Nweke.
“The second suspect, Onyebuchi Chita, of Nkomoro community, in the same local government area, confessed to have brought in the killers from Nkomoro into Ogboji community, where Peter Nweke was killed.
“The third suspect, Aloke Obinna, of Ogboji community, confessed to have given his motorcycle to one Onyebuchi Chita for escape after the incident.
“While Ifeanyi Nwokpuku, the fourth suspect, of Ogboji community in Ezza North LGA, conspired with one Sampson Nweke, who pointed Peter Nweke out to the killers.”
Onovwakpoyeya said the suspects would be arraigned at the end of investigations.
Still, another intriguing thing about Nweke’s death is that the deceased had foreknowledge of his death, that he and his young brother one Samson Nweke had be targeted for elimination. Samson confessed to Premium Times how his late brother, who was beaten to coma, had earlier warned him to be careful as two of them were prime targets.
The younger Nweke said the thugs wielding AK-47 riffles invaded his brother’s polling unit 10, Ogboji ward, Ezza North LGA Ebonyi State.
According to him, the thugs came in two motorcycles and surrendered him.
“They beat my brother, Mr Nweke Peter JP to coma,” he said.
“The hoodlums were also said to have set ablaze all the electoral materials in the three booths in Ndiagu Ogboji.,booths 009, 010 and 011,” he said.
The younger brother said: “Two weeks ago, Bro Peter came visiting me in Abakaliki. I wasn’t in the house but he met my wife. He told my wife to tell me that I should be very careful.
“He said that a certain political party had enlisted some persons from our community for elimination on or before the election date. He said he is number one on the list, I am number two and three other persons.
“Today, it happened to us. While I luckily survived it, my brother could not. They killed him at my polling unit.
“I wish today never came. Oh! How I wish there was never a date called 18th March, 2023. Bro Peter wouldn’t have died. A young man so full of life and promise.”