By Cajetan Mmuta
The Imo state police command has arrested one suspect in connection with the murder of a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, Christian Kpatuma in the state.
Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Rabiu Hussaini disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Owerri, the state capital.
Kpatuma, a native of Mgbala, Agwa in Oguta Local Government Area of the state, was said to have been abducted, killed, and beheaded on 1st February 2022.
His abductors had dumped his corpse in front of his compound after they must have .ordered him where they took him to.
CP Hassaini gave the name of the suspect as Daberechi Chukwu.
He disclosed that Chukwu was arrested by the command’s tactical team while trying to escape to a border state.
According to the state police boss, “Sequel to a report of a case of murder received by the Agwa Divisional Police Headquarters that, on 01/02/2022 at about 2152 hours, a group of young men suspected to be cultist resident in Mgbala Community Agwa in Oguta LGA of Imo State, conspired amongst themselves went to the house of one Christian Kpatuma, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police ( CSP ) and a native of Mgbala, abducted and took him to a nearby bush where they killed him and later carried the corpse back and dump it in front of his compound.”
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He said, “After the diligent gathering of both forensic and technical intelligence, one of the suspects, Deberechi Chukwu, the leader of the cult group that killed the retired police officer, CSP Christian Kpatuma was arrested while escaping to a border state.”
“In the course of Investigation, it was revealed that the suspect, Daberechi Chukwu is a notorious kidnapper and an escapee from the Imo Correctional Center Owerri, Imo State.”
“The suspect, after escaping from the Imo Correctional Centre, recruited young men into his cult group and were terrorizing the Agwa community. It is also, on record that, he was involved in the killings of a lot of security personnel in the state,” he said
