The Ebonyi State Police Command has arraigned a 30-year-old suspect, Oforbuike Okoro, before Magistrate Court 2 in Abakaliki, the state capital, for allegedly murdering his mother, Onyema Damian.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly committed the act after his mother refused to take him to a location where he intended to bathe as part of a ritual believed to confer wealth.
The police further disclosed that the suspect was also angered over a missing bag he reportedly used for trading activities.
Ukandu added that within March alone, the Command had also arraigned four other suspects, Onyebuchi Eze, Eze Nwuke, Oko Odinaka Emmanuel, and Uchenna Ota, for alleged involvement in separate murder cases, describing the trend as deeply troubling.
He noted that the new Commissioner of Police, CP Hope Urunwa-Okafor, who recently resumed office, had expressed concern over the rising cases of homicide in the state and urged residents to refrain from taking the law into their own hands.
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The Commissioner also appealed to members of the public to report grievances to security agencies, stressing that murder remains a capital offence and a grave crime against humanity. She reaffirmed the Command’s open-door policy and assured residents of prompt attention to complaints.
At the court, the defendant pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of murder.
The police prosecutor, David Njoku, told the court that the offence was committed on March 19, 2026, at Ohatekwe, Ukawu, in the Onicha Local Government Area of the state. He alleged that the defendant stabbed his mother in the back with a knife, leading to her death.
According to the prosecutor, the offence is punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap 33, Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State, 2009.
The defendant, who had no legal representation, told the court he could not fully explain his actions but admitted responsibility.
“I don’t know what really happened, but I can remember that I killed her over her refusal to bathe me,” he said.
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