Police Arrest Female Suspect Over Gruesome Murder Of Pregnant Nurse, Recover Human Parts In Shrine In Anambra State

 

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 24-year-old woman in connection with the brutal murder and mutilation of a pregnant nurse, whose body was discovered dumped in a soakaway pit in Ogbunike, Oyi Local Government Area.

The incident, which reawakens renewed fears of ritual killings in the state, has been linked to a wider syndicate involving alleged native doctors and body part trade.

The Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday said the suspect identified as Somtochukwu Nwafor, was arrested on July 25 with the help of community members from Umueri village in Ogbunike.

According to Ikenga, the suspect confessed during interrogation to being the girlfriend of the prime suspect, Chiemerie Obika Elobisi, who is currently on the run.

The police spokesperson said preliminary investigations revealed that the late nurse, whose name is being withheld, was lured to the suspect’s residence under the pretext of providing medical care, only to be brutally killed. 

Her body was later discovered dismembered and concealed in a soakaway pit.

Nwafor allegedly told detectives that she was called in after the killing to help clean up bloodstains and that human body parts were sold to different "evil native doctors" operating in the area.

“She stated that she was called by the suspect to clean the blood stains after the victim was murdered. She further revealed how they sell the body parts to different evil native doctors in the area,” Ikenga stated.

Following her confession, operatives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) raided the shrine of a native doctor, Nwafor Chibunna Ofornwatadile, in Itima Amawa Village, Ogbunike, in the early hours of July 29. 

There, police recovered suspected human parts concealed in cellophane bags. 

The police said the shrine was sealed, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend the native doctor and other accomplices.

“Given the information from the suspect, Operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in the early hours of 29th July 2025, burst a shrine of an identified native doctor, Nwafor Chibunna Ofornwatadile from Itima Amawa Village, Ogbunike and recovered suspected human body parts, concealed in cellophane (nylon) bags,” Ikenga stated. 

“However, the Command has launched a manhunt for the prime suspect, along with the suspected receivers and collaborators.”

Reacting to the incident, the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ikioye Orutugu, condemned the killing as “inhumane, criminal, and an affront to public morality and the sanctity of life.”

The CP encouraged anyone with useful information to assist the Police in the ongoing investigation to come forward and assured that the identity of such informants would be adequately protected.

Ikenga reiterated the Command’s commitment to bringing all perpetrators to justice.

The incident added to a disturbing pattern of ritual-related killings and body mutilation crimes that have plagued Anambra State and the wider South-East region in recent months.

In March 2025, the mutilated bodies of two teenage girls were discovered near a bush in Nanka, Orumba North Local Government Area, allegedly sacrificed in a ritual operation involving an underground trafficking ring. 

Just last month, in June, a decomposing corpse with missing body parts was found in a shallow grave near Oba community, prompting a wave of protests from women’s groups demanding better security.

Security experts have long warned of the resurgence of ritualistic practices linked to money-making myths and occult beliefs. 

The Police Command, working in tandem with local vigilante groups and community leaders, has intensified operations in rural and peri-urban areas to dismantle shrines and arrest suspects connected to such practices.