A mathematics teacher is blaming the devil after killing his 83-year-old uncle over a plot of land in Enugu State. The suspect, Mr. Daniel Ekemezie, aka Bakassi, is a teacher in Ukpata Community Secondary School, in the Uzo-Uwani area of the state.
Mr. Ekemezie, a father of two, had been engaged in a long-running land dispute with his uncle, the now late Mr. Patrick Odoh.
Both men are natives of Ukpata community, in the Uzo-Uwani area of Enugu, where the incident happened.
It was said that around 8pm on March 4, 2017, Ekemezie abducted his uncle, Odoh, after waking him up from sleep.
He was alleged to have gagged Odoh and tied him to a tree in a forest.
The octogenarian was abandoned in the forest until March 8, 2017, when Ekemezie, having discovered that he was dead, allegedly buried him in a shallow grave.
Confirming the sad development, the Public Relations Officer, Enugu Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, said Ekemezie was arrested by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit.
The police spokesman said the teacher owned up to the crime after he was arrested.
He said, “According to the suspect, he had left for his uncle’s place with the intention of killing him in order to settle their age-long family land dispute.
“He disclosed that on getting to the place, he woke up his uncle and informed him that he had an issue to discuss with him.
“When his uncle woke up, he tied his mouth with clothes to stop him from shouting and whisked him quietly to the Iyimkpafu/Ofiakputu Forest at Ukpata, where he tied Odoh to the tree with a rope and left him there until March 8, 2017, when, according to him, the victim had given up the ghost.
“Ekemezie further disclosed that on noticing that his uncle had died, he hurriedly buried him in a shallow grave and fled.
“The Enugu State Police Command, through its operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on intelligence information, promptly nabbed the suspect.”
Following Ekemezie’s arrest, his uncle’s remains were recovered from the shallow grave.
Amaraizu said the teacher led police operatives to the location of the grave.
The teacher, who spoke with journalists, blamed the devil for his action. He now declared that he was ready to surrender the disputed land to his late uncle’s son, if he was pardoned.
He said, “I want to tell people to run from issues about land disputes because they can lead to loss of lives.
“I want the son of late Pa Patrick Odoh to forgive me and even take the land; I am ready to leave the land for him.
“I regret my action; it was caused by the devil. I recently lost my wife and I am left alone with two kids. God please help me.”
The police said the suspect would be charged to court at the end of investigation.
