The past week was eventful in Nigeria’s South-east, where sad and joyous events and others in-between grabbed the headlines.
The top stories included the news of the death of Nollywood actor, Pope Obumneme Odonwodo (Junior Pope), in a boat accident alongside four others, the fallout of the sad incident, and that of the wedding of the university lecturer who proposed to his student in the classroom,
It was the second week of April 2024.
Here are the highlights of the top stories that made headlines in the region within the period.
Police arrest hotelier over alleged torture of employee to death
The week began with an announcement by the police in Imo State on Sunday that they had arrested a hotelier over the death of an employee of his hotel.
The suspect, Ibeh Obasi, 38, owns the hotel, Our Guest House, in the Umulogho community in the Obowo Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Obasi was said to have been arrested in connection to the death of the 25-year-old victim, Ebuka Udemba, who allegedly suffocated to death after he was tortured and locked up in the hotel’s generator house for alleged stealing of a customer’s phone.
The suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Owerri for consolidation of the ongoing investigation, according to the police.
Police probe murder of another lawyer in Imo
The police in Imo State, last Tuesday, announced that they had begun an investigation into the murder of a lawyer, Garricks Anyanwu, who was killed by assailants a week earlier.
Mr Anyawu was killed in his hometown of Orodo in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state by some suspected assassins.
His decomposing body was later discovered in a bush on 5 April.
The killing is a painful reminder that the insecurity in the South-east is yet to slow down.
Security agencies destroy criminal camps, defuse bombs – Official
The frequent destruction of criminal camps in the South-east by security agencies continued on Friday in Anambra state when combined security agencies raided some terrorist camps in a forest located in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the state.
The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, who announced this in a statement on Wednesday, said Amiyi and Ochuche communities within the council area were “combed” by the combined security team during a search for the suspected terrorists in the state.
Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said apart from the destroyed camps, nine improvised explosive devices were recovered from the camps and defused by the police bomb squad during the operation.
The fact that new criminal camps continue to spring up despite frequent raids and destructions by security agencies suggests that the suspected terrorists operating in the region may have developed skills to rebuild destroyed camps and manufacture explosive devices.
Junior Pope, four others die in boat mishap in Anambra River
It was a tragic day last Wednesday when Nollywood actor, John Paul Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope, and four other actors drowned after their boat capsized in Anam River in Anambra State on Wednesday while returning from a movie shoot.
There was initial excitement on Wednesday night following reports that the 39-year-old was later resuscitated after initially being reported dead.
But the joy was short-lived after the actor was later confirmed dead, hours after.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) had earlier said 12 individuals were on the ill-fated boat.
Of the number, NIWA added that seven were successfully rescued, two found dead, including Mr Odonwodo while three others – two females and one male – were declared missing.
But the police in Anambra State, Friday, said they had recovered bodies of the three missing Nollywood stars.
Adanma Luke, producer of the ill-fated movie would later blame Junior Pope‘s death on his refusal to wear a lifejacket during the boat trip.
Meanwhile, there were speculations from Mr Odonwodo’s fans shortly after his death became public that some of his jealous Nollywood colleagues might have played a role in his death.
Some supporters of the deceased actor, for instance, claimed that some Nollywood colleagues took him to a mortuary after his rescue instead of seeking medical attention for him.
The police, in response, said they had begun an investigation to unravel any criminal liability in the cause of death of Mr Odonwodo and four others.
The boat accident, which claimed a total of five lives, including Junior Pope, threw nearly the whole country in mourning mood.
Enugu community resorts to invoking deities against pro-Biafra attacks, killings
On Thursday, we brought you an exclusive report about a community in Enugu State that resorted to invoking deities to stop frequent attacks and killings by pro-Biafra gunmen in the area.
The community, Enugu-Ezike, which is in the Igboeze-North Local Government Area of the Nigerian South-eastern state, had been witnessing frequent attacks and killings by the pro-Biafra gunmen.
Multiple sources told PulseNets that the community invoked the deities following the alleged inability of the security agencies to stop the attacks in the area.
Months after the deities were invoked, the attacks and killings in the community have slowed down in the community, residents told this newspaper.
Although a security expert said the resort to deities for help by the community was not new, the development highlights the inability of Nigerian authorities to secure the country.
Ogbonnoya Onu’s death
It was a sad day last Thursday, when the first civilian governor of Abịa State, Ogbonnaya Onu, was confirmed dead.
Mr Onu, who was the minister of science and technology in the Muhammadu Buhari administration, died in an Abuja hospital.
He hailed from Ụbụrụ in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, South-east Nigeria.
Although the former minister’s death took place in Abuja and was also considered a national loss, residents and leaders of the South-east heavily mourned him.
The governors of Abia and Imo states and the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, for instance, were among top South-east leaders who expressed sadness over the loss of the former minister.
Nigerian lecturer weds student he openly proposed to in classroom
On Friday, we reported that the Nigerian lecturer who proposed to his female student in a classroom during the last Valentine’s Day has finally married her.
The new couple held their church wedding on 6 April at Saint Paul’s Anglican Church in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State.
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The lecturer, Wisdom Anucha, and his new wife, Novella Grace, proceeded immediately to Ngwa High School, Aba, for their wedding reception.
The new couple had their traditional marriage a week earlier.
Some Nigerians criticised the lecturer for proposing to the students in the classroom.
However, the management of the university and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities at the institution, in their separate reactions, argued that the lecturer did not violate any university law or ethical principle by his action.
