Crime
Uzodimma orders probe after saving widow from drinking ‘corpse water’ of late husband
Uzodimma gave the charge in Isieke, Awo-Omamma, Oru East where female siblings of a deceased man, Odinakachi Ndubuisi tried to force his wife, Chika Ndubuisi to drink the water used to wash the corpse to prove her innocence over his death on Friday.
Represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Lady Nkechi Ugwu, Uzodimma warned locals to desist from such practice, saying it will not be allowed in Imo State.
The Imo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Chief Nkechi Ugwu and security operatives had on Friday saved a widow, Mrs Chika Ndubuisi from drinking the water used to wash her husband’s corpse.
Ugwu, alongside the local government Chairman, and security operatives stormed the venue of the burial at Isieke, Awo-Omamma, Imo State on Friday, October 24th.
The Commissioner said the Imo State Ministry of Women Affairs, Onurube Coalition Group, Virgin Heart Foundation, Harsco Global Media, Odumodu TV, and Sisters With a Goal intervened, rescued the widow, and provided her with support and protection.
Ugwu disclosed that the widow, Chika Joy Amanda was falsely accused by her in-laws, the Akamegbulem family, of killing him.
Sources who pleaded anonymity said Chika was locked inside the ambulance that conveyed the corpse to the Isieke community, waiting for her to drink the water before help arrived.
However, due to the heavy presence of security operatives and government officials, Odinakachi’s siblings backed down and allowed her to alight from the ambulance.
Thereafter, security operatives directed that the burial ceremony begin and ensured the dust-to-dust rite was performed by Chika and her children, and the corpse was buried.
Late Chika’s husband, Mr Odinakachi Ndubuisi was said to have given up the ghost after a tough battle with hepatitis complications.
The source said during treatment, one of Odinakachi’s sisters forcefully moved him from the hospital to a native doctor where he gave up the ghost.
Sources had alerted Onurube Coalition that some female siblings of Odinakachi Ndubuisi had threatened the widow that she would be forced to drink the water used to wash her husband’s corpse to prove her innocence.
The source said Chika was locked in the ambulance for hours alongside her brother with the corpse and was resisted from alighting until she tasted the corpse water.
However, upon notice of the barbaric practice, Onurube Coalition consisting of Marjorie Ezihe, Davidson Nwosu, Harriet Ijeoma, and several others alerted the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Chief Nkechi Ugwu and the Oru West local government Chairman, and several security operatives who stormed the community and rescued Chika, her children, and brother.
The Imo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Chief Nkechi Ugwu said the ministry waded into the obnoxious, victimisation and inhuman treatment meted out against a widow in Awo-Omamma in Oru-East LGA whose husband died of a protracted sickness.
Ugwu said “When the attention of the ministry was drawn that the family members accused her of killing her husband and wanted the widow to drink the water used in bathing the husband’s corpse and also bathe with the water, efforts were made to stop the obnoxious and harmful traditional practice.
“In collaboration with the council Chairman of Oru East, Chief Okwaraigwe, the representatives of Virgin Heart Foundation and Onurube, Director Child Development of the Ministry, Mrs. Blessing Azubuike, and security personnel from Oru East, we attended the burial to ensure that obnoxious practice was not carried out on the widow.
“We were there until the man was buried and the grave site closed. The woman and her children were rescued from the hands of the evil perpetrators and those caught in the act were handed over to the authorities for prosecution in line with the relevant extant laws”, Ugwu said.
Further, she said calm has been restored to the community saying “calm has been restored to the community with an investigation started to fish out those behind the harmful traditional practice long abrogated and prohibited. We gave a stern warning to people to desist from such acts because in imo state, such will not be condoned.”
In May 2025, a non-governmental organisation, Community Life Project, called for the total eradication of the harmful traditional practices and the denial of women’s inheritance being practiced in some communities of Imo State.
Meanwhile, calm has been restored to the community while Chika and her children have been taken into protective custody to protect them from further attacks from her in-laws.
The Kano State Police Command has rescued nine passengers who were abducted after armed bandits attacked a commercial bus along the Jos-Kano highway in Doguwa Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday in Kano, saying the incident occurred at about 5:30 p.m. on July 26.
According to him, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Doguwa Division received a distress call reporting that a Toyota Hiace bus, with registration number BKK 6824 XA, travelling from Jos to Kano, had been attacked around the Folgore Forest axis, between Gate Two Safer Highway and Dogo Dutse.
Kiyawa said five suspected armed bandits, reportedly armed with machetes and a firearm, blocked the highway, attacked the vehicle and abducted 13 of the 20 passengers on board.
He said the DPO immediately mobilised tactical police operatives to the scene, where they engaged the attackers in a gun battle.
The police spokesperson said the swift intervention of the operatives led to the rescue of nine victims, while another male passenger later escaped from captivity.
He, however, disclosed that three victims — one male and two females — remained in the custody of the abductors.
The rescued passengers were taken to Doguwa General Hospital for medical evaluation and were reported to be in stable condition.
Kiyawa said the command had intensified operations, deploying additional tactical teams and enhancing intelligence gathering efforts to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the perpetrators.
The Commissioner of Police in Kano State, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, commended members of the public for providing timely information that contributed to the rescue operation.
Bakori reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property and urged residents to continue reporting suspicious activities to security agencies.
He added that investigations into the incident were ongoing, assuring that further updates would be made available to the public.
The arrest was effected by troops of Operation Hadin Kai according to an X post by security professional, Zagazola Makama.
Identifying the suspect as Private Mohammed Yusuf of the Nigerian Army Ordnance Training Facility, NAOTF, Lagos with service number: 23NA/84/1939, Makama said he was apprehended by troops of 7 Provost Group led by the Acting Commander at about 6:30pm on July 25, 2026 by.
He had earlier absconded from his unit and travelled to Maiduguri on July 7, 2026, where he allegedly went into hiding.
This made the army high command to declare him wanted.
According to Makama, “The suspect is currently in the custody of the 7 Provost Group, where he is undergoing further investigation into the alleged supply of military accoutrements to terrorist elements and the possible involvement of other collaborators.
“The arrest is a significant breakthrough in ongoing efforts to dismantle insider networks aiding terrorist groups, adding that investigations are continuing to establish the full extent of the suspect’s activities and identify any accomplices,” Makama said.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 55-year-old Lagos businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, over an alleged attempt to export 3.30kg of cocaine concealed in the walls of cartons used to package foodstuffs destined for the United Kingdom.
The NDLEA said Chinedu, a clothing trader at the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island, was arrested on Thursday, July 23, 2026, following the interception of the cocaine consignment at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, a day earlier.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, three cargo agents—Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim—were initially arrested for handling the shipment.
The agency said their arrests led to the apprehension of Kenneth Okakpu, who allegedly delivered the consignment to the cargo agents for shipment to the UK.
Okakpu’s arrest, according to the NDLEA, provided investigators with information that led to the identification of Chinedu as the alleged kingpin behind the operation. He was subsequently arrested while allegedly attempting to send another consignment of cocaine to the UK.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a 31-year-old entrepreneur, Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo, at her residence in Surulere, Lagos, following the seizure of 2.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
The agency said the consignment arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight on Monday, July 20, 2026, before Chukwu-Edo was arrested the following day.
Also at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 2.24 million pills of Tapentadol 250mg, with an estimated street value of over N2.2bn, from a shipment that arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight.
The agency said the recovery followed intelligence-led operations and a joint examination of the cargo on Friday, July 24.
This came shortly after NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of tramadol concealed inside containers of black soap and allegedly destined for the UK at a courier company in Lagos on Wednesday, July 22.
At the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives also uncovered 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5kg, with an estimated street value of over N7.1bn.
The drugs were allegedly concealed inside three vehicles packed in a shipping container. The consignment was uncovered during a joint examination on Monday, July 20.
In Katsina State, NDLEA operatives arrested 30-year-old Mustapha Sani during a patrol operation at Baure, Safana Local Government Area, and recovered 323 rounds of military-grade ammunition allegedly concealed on him.
The ammunition reportedly comprised 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm.
Another suspect, 30-year-old Abubakar Amadu, was arrested during a stop-and-search operation at Jere, along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, with 73 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition allegedly concealed inside kegs of red oil.
The NDLEA said both suspects had been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, the agency said its operatives recovered 1,286kg of cannabis and 86kg of cannabis seeds during a raid on a warehouse in Ilushi community, Esan South-East Local Government Area, on Sunday, July 19.
The operation also led to the arrest of 45-year-old Ojore Onweze, who was allegedly found with 60kg of skunk, and 30-year-old George Agwumede, who was allegedly arrested with 13kg of the same substance.
According to a statement on Friday, the arrested officers are: “AP/No. 207454, ASP Elomore Sodayo; AP/No. 332012, Inspector Adefila Adewale; AP/No. 332449, Inspector Olorunfemi Opeyemi; and AP/No. 332369, Inspector Odusola Peter.”
Speaking at the command headquarters in Akure on Friday, the state Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, said the police had zero tolerance for indiscipline and unprofessional conduct.
He added that a comprehensive investigation had been ordered to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine the level of culpability of each officer involved.
He added that officers were expected to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism, respect human dignity and comply strictly with the Force’s Code of Conduct and Standard Operating Procedures.
“The Nigeria Police Force is a disciplined and professional institution that does not condone any form of misconduct, incivility, or actions capable of undermining public confidence, promoting ethnic division, or bringing the Force into disrepute,” the commissioner said.
He assured the public that the investigation would be conducted to determine the facts of the case, adding that any officer found culpable would face appropriate disciplinary action.
This was said to be part of renewed efforts to tackle insecurity.
Disu gave the directive on Friday during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
According to the IG, the order followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive that the persistent insecurity in Benue State must be brought to an end.
He stressed that only authorised security personnel were legally permitted to bear firearms, warning that the era of passive policing was over.
“You cannot move around freely carrying arms as if there is no law and order in this country. It will not be tolerated,” he said.
Disu disclosed that police officers had been empowered under Force Order 237 to respond decisively to armed threats without waiting for directives from superior officers.
“We are tired of losing our men. We are tired of police officers, soldiers, and other members of the security agencies dying anyhow.
“They have been instructed to shoot at sight. They have been trained to do what is necessary. But we will not succeed without the cooperation of all of you.”
He called on residents to support security agencies with credible information, stressing that public cooperation remains critical to the fight against armed criminality.
Benue State has witnessed repeated attacks by armed groups in recent months, resulting in the loss of lives, displacement of residents and destruction of property.
The federal government has continued to deploy additional security personnel and adopt tougher measures aimed at restoring peace in the state.
-
Education1 day agoHostel Building Collapses at Federal Polytechnic Oko, Students Feared Trapped
-
News5 days agoPresident Tinubu Approves Expansion Of Nigerian Army To 12 Divisions
-
Crime5 days agoTension As Gunmen Plot to Establish Camps in Awka Capital
-
News4 days agoYour votes will count in 2027, INEC chair assures Nigerians
-
News4 days agoMbah Reassures Nigerians on Enugu Air Safety After Runway Excursion
-
Politics2 days agoWhy Buhari didn’t openly support Tinubu in 2023 APC primary — Ex-SGF Babachir
-
Health3 days ago20,966 Nigerian Health Workers Migrated Abroad in One Year – Report
-
News1 day agoFG Budgets About N1tn for SUVs, Empowerment Amid Rising Borrowing Pressure