Land Deal Allegedly Ends In Bloody Murder In Anambra

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested four persons over the gruesome murder of a 56-year-old man, Kelechi Madu, whose body was found in a bush in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area of the state.

Police said the arrests followed investigations into Madu’s disappearance and subsequent discovery of his body with a deep axe cut to the head.

The Command’s spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the breakthrough came after the arrest of one of the deceased’s friends, identified as 32-year-old Ifeanyi Nwankwo.

According to the police, Nwankwo allegedly confessed to involvement in the planning of Madu’s murder and to engaging two other persons to carry out the killing.

The police said preliminary investigations indicated that the murder was allegedly connected to money obtained from the deceased under the guise of helping him acquire a piece of land.

Ikenga said the suspect allegedly feared that the fraudulent transaction would be exposed and allegedly sought to conceal the matter by arranging for the victim to be killed.

The case began on August 18, 2026, when Madu’s wife reported to the police that her husband had left home on the evening of August 17 and had failed to return.

Police operatives, working with members of a local vigilante group and the deceased’s family, immediately commenced inquiries and a search operation to establish his whereabouts.

However, the search took a tragic turn later that same day when Madu’s wife reportedly returned to the police station in distress and informed officers that her husband had been found dead in a nearby bush at Umuobi, Awkuzu.

Police operatives immediately moved to the scene, where Madu was found lying lifeless with a deep axe cut to his head.

His body was subsequently evacuated and deposited in a hospital for preservation as investigations commenced.

As detectives intensified their investigation, police arrested Nwankwo, described as a friend of the deceased.

According to the Command, preliminary findings suggested that Nwankwo allegedly collected money from Madu while claiming he would assist him in acquiring land.

Police said that in an alleged attempt to conceal the transaction and avoid accounting for the money, the suspect reportedly recruited two other persons to murder the 56-year-old man.

Four suspects have now been arrested in connection with the case, with police promising to pursue all those found to have played a role in the alleged conspiracy.

Ikenga said the Commissioner of Police, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, had directed investigators to intensify efforts to identify and arrest every person connected to the murder.

The Command also assured the public that those found culpable would be brought to justice.

The suspects remain under investigation, and the allegations against them are yet to be tested in court. Under Nigerian law, they are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.