By Cajetan Mmuta, Awka
The family of one Miss Chinyere Awuda, who was killed and dumped inside an abandoned swimming pool at Cosmila Hotel, Awka, has petitioned the Anambra Police, demanding justice for her death.
They alleged that their daughter was a victim of conspiracy with an intent to murder.
Recall that Chinyere was said to have gone to DFame nightclub located within the Cosmilla Hotel, Awka on July 16th, 2023.
She was later found dead following a severe beating by her attackers during the night and her body was dumped in an abandoned swimming pool.
But the Awuda family, in a petition to the Commissioner of Police, Anambra, through their lawyer, Eziafa Enwedo of Rigota Chambers insisted that their daughter was murdered by her killers without any intervention and resistance by management of the hotel.
The petition was titled “Call for Thorough Investigation of Conspiracy, Murder With Intent to Commit Rituals; Accessory After the Fact to Murder of Miss Chinyere Awuda, Attempt to Compound Felony by Coaxing the Deceased Family into Accepting Settlement Before Conclusion of Investigation.
The petition was against Chinemere Hope Gabriel (aka Bullion Van), Steven Junior (aka Exclusive), Management of Cosmila Hotel and Suites Ltd, and Others at Large”.
This came as the management of Cosmila Hotel on Tuesday stated that Miss Chinyere Awuda was not beaten to death.
It said that footage from CCTVs of the hotel showed that Chinyere Awuda ran to an uncompleted building and hid behind a car in the car park for safety, adding that when she came out of her hiding, no one was seen with her and no one followed her when she ran out of the club to hide.
A statement signed by the Awka branch Manager of Comilla Hotel, Mr Stanley Akuneziri said, “At our security room, we saw footage of all movements the CCTV cameras were able to capture 2/3 of”
He said, “The first CCTV footage showed when late Chinyere stepped out. The second footage outside the Club identified Bullion Van as the person chasing her. However, when he could not catch her, he threw his phone at her”
“Another CCTV camera captured when late Chinyere ran to our hotel extension.
“The same CCTV Camera still captured when Bullion Van and his friends came into the extension and left almost immediately after their unsuccessful search”
“A CCTV camera close to the parking lot captured late Chinyere hiding at the back of a car in the park. Another CCTV camera at the entrance of where we have abandoned pool captured late Chinyere as she ran into the compound “
“This particular CCTV camera did not capture any other person going inside or when late Chinyere came out of the same compound”
“Anambra State Police Command has taken over the matter and some arrests have already been made in that regard. We are working with the Police, which will be made public when the investigation is concluded”
“Contrary to what has been said, late Chinyere was never beaten to death or dragged to the pool. We cannot for any reason hurt anybody or do things that are inimical to our goals and objectives, Cosmilla Hotels is a known brand for hospitality and relaxation”
“And we do not condone any actions that may affect our customers or jeopardize the integrity we have suffered to build over the years. Customer welfare is our watchword. We follow all necessary protocols and safety measures to make sure our guests are satisfied, and that has made us outstanding in Anambra State and Nigeria at large”
“We strongly condemn the attitude of some Bloggers who have jettisoned the professional ethics of Journalism on the altar of making money through the traffic of bad/poor reportage”
“Since this issue started, we opened our gates to everybody who wished to come and ask questions, see the CCTV footage, or demand any information. It is wickedness and evil for people to publish a sensitive story of this nature without hearing our side of the story”
“An Autopsy is being conducted and the result will be made public. Anybody fingered in her death must surely face the full weight of the Law. Our deepest sympathy to the Awuda family, we wish them divine comfort during this dark time. May her soul rest in perfect peace, Amen.” the management said.
Reacting, the deceased family said the deceased was beaten to death by the suspects under the watch of bouncers and security of the nightclub and the hotel.
They said that they were under pressure to close the matter but insisted that the fact behind the death of their daughter should be investigated, made public and the culprits made to face the law.
“We write this petition on the gruesome murder of Miss Chinyere Awuda by Mr Chinemere Hope Gabriel and cohorts; under the watch of Mr Steven Junior, the manager of DFame Nightclub, and the management of Cosmila Hotel and Suites.
“The deceased was said to have joined other fellow girls to pick money in the club that was sprayed as music and dancing were going on, the tradition in the club and there was a rush during the picking of money.
“The prime suspect singled out the deceased (not being one of his invitees) and began to beat her, which instigated the rest of his gang to join him in the beating, under the watch of the club manager who was present there.
“While the fracas was going on inside the clubhouse, the Manager of the club instructed the bouncers to stand down and not to interfere, thereby stopping the security from rescuing the deceased.
“The deceased managed to escape from their grip inside the club but Gabriel assembled his gang, and pursued the deceased to the abandoned swimming pool corner wherein they waylaid and trapped her.
“At some point, while the deceased was screaming as they were maiming and mutilating her, the prime suspect, Gabriel knocked her off with what seemed like a metal that broke her forehead and silenced her.
“We further gathered that the manager instructed that the power generating set be put off, and the power supply to the entire hotel was suddenly put out, throwing the entire hotel into darkness,” it said.
The petitioners asked the hotel management to provide a comprehensive CCTV video of what happened both inside the club where the beating started and outside where the actual murder occurred.
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The family described the footage in circulation released by the hotel as blurred and disjointed which left more questions unanswered.
According to them, it is also important to note that the investigating officer at the B Division, the suspects and the Hotel Management were coaxing the deceased family members to accept a settlement before the conclusion of the investigation.
“We refer to the authentic video clip from the CCTV (already collected by the police) showing details of the murder and the subsequent dumping of the deceased lifeless body into the abandoned swimming pool.
“We were reliably informed by an insider, a sympathetic officer, that there have been moves to change the initial confessional statements of the prime suspects, and that of the hotel manager,” it said.
They said it was insensitive to the plight of the bereaved and a mark of disrespect for the deceased that the Hotel was sealed and reopened to the public within 24 hours.
“We call on the Police to seal the crime scene pending the outcome of investigation for the sake of public conscience and also arrest, detain and prosecute all other suspects, as shown by the CCTV clip already in the police custody,” it said.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state command, DSP Toochukwu Ikena said the command was aware of the case and that four suspects have been arrested.
