Murder of Obiano’s aide: Police beam searchlight on monarchs

Christopher Oji

Police detectives investigating the murder of a security aide to Governor Obiano of Anambra State, Azubuike Ekwegbalu, have been directed to beam their searchlight on some traditional rulers from the state.

The traditional rulers, according to the police, are those that have recently been embroiled in major crisis with the governor.

A source at the force headquarters, Abuja, hinted that the security aide, who was discreetly involved in top security surveillance for the government, may have incurred the anger of his killers after he permeated the circle where they were hatching strategies and plans to unsettle the government.

The senior police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not supposed to speak to the press, said: “There are pointers to the fact that just a day before the aide was killed in his residence at the highbrow commissioners’ s quarters, Awka, he was spotted roving around the town where the dissenting rulers were meeting to strategize on their ill-fated trip to Abuja to report Obiano to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Late Azubuike was secretly compiling major damaging reports about the clandestine activities of some traditional rulers and their sponsors for the urgent attention of the governor. He was yet to submit the report before he was killed.

“His principal may not be aware of his efforts to unravel the suspicious dealings of the rulers; he had long been involved in such discreet missions, especially against suspected cultists, kidnappers and other criminals in and around the state and it has contributed immensely to the low crime rate in the state.

“His killers may have trailed him to his residence after his last investigative trip. They reportedly succeeded in locating his residence only to later sneak into the apartment through an open window in the kitchen from where they attacked him in the bedroom and dragged the body back to the kitchen before escaping.”

Anambra State police public relations officer, Mohammed Marina, when contacted on phone, confirmed that a suspect has been arrested over the incident and added that he was helping detectives with useful information to unravel the killers of the aid.