Ejike Okata, the suspected killer of his neighbour, has been arrested by men of the Ogun State Police Command at a motor park in Ijebu-Ode.
Okata, 27, who hails from Onueke in the Eza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was arrested 48 hours after he allegedly killed his 50-year-old neighbour, Adeyiba Oladipo, in the Ayegbami area of Ijebu-Ode over a dispute.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said this in a statement on Sunday.
Oyeyemi said the suspect was arrested on Sunday at the Mobalufon junction motor park, while running away to his village in Ebonyi State.
According to him, the suspect reportedly dealt machete blows on Oladipo during a minor argument on Friday, which led to her death.
Oyeyemi said the suspect was arrested following a report by the deceased’s brother at the Obalende Police Station, Ijebu-Ode, on Friday.
The brother reported that his sister, who resided in the Ayegbami area of the city, was cut with a machete by her neighbour over a minor argument.
The PPRO added that the complainant told the police that the suspect ran away immediately after the incident.
He said, “Upon the report, the DPO, Obalende Division, CSP Omonijo Sunday, mobilised his detectives to the scene, where the corpse of the victim was recovered and taken to the Ijebu-Ode General Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
“A serious manhunt was launched for the fleeing suspect. The efforts of the detectives yielded a positive result on Sunday, March 1, 2020, when the suspect was about to board an Ebonyi State bound vehicle, but he was apprehended by policemen, who had already laid an ambush for him due to intelligence information that they already had about him.
“On interrogation, the suspect, who hails from Onueke in the Eza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, confessed to dealing machete blows on the deceased, because she accused him of stealing a phone, which infuriated him.
“He confessed further that he cut off the woman’s two hands because she wanted to struggle with him and collect the machete.”
Oyeyemi added that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Kenneth Ebrimson, had ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution.
