The family of Miss Chinyere Awuda, 27, who was found dead inside an abandoned swimming pool at a Hotel in Awka on July 16, has continued to claim that their daughter was a victim of conspiracy and intentional murder, rather than a thief, who drowned in a pool while trying to escape.
The news of the young girl, who was said to have gone clubbing on July 16 but was found dead in an abandoned swimming pool in the Hotel premises the next morning, has remained in the public domain, since it broke a fortnight ago, with the family in their petition through their lawyer, Eziafa Enwedo, maintaining that she was murdered by her killers without resistance by the hotel management.
The petition was titled Call for Thorough Investigation of Conspiracy, Murder With Intent to Commit Rituals; Accessory After the Fact to Murder Miss Chinyere Awuda, Attempt to Compound Felony by Coaxing the Deceased Family into Accepting Settlement Before Conclusion of Investigation, named Chinemere Hope Gabriel (aka Bullion Van), Steven Junior (aka Exclusive), management of the hotel, and others at large, as the main suspects.
Alleging that the deceased was gang-beaten to death by the suspects under the watch of bouncers and security of the nightclub and hotel, the family revealed it was 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.
The petition, said: “The deceased was said to have joined other 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 process.
“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. While the fracas was going on inside the clubhouse, the Manager of the club allegedly instructed the bouncers to stand down and not interfere, thereby stopping the security from rescuing the deceased.
“The deceased managed to escape from their grip inside the club but Gabriel allegedly assembled his gang, 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.
The family described the footage in circulation as blurred and disjointed which left more questions unanswered.
“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 that there has been moves to change the initial confessional statements of the prime suspect, and others,” it said.
The family 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.
Cosmila Hotel, where the murder happened, though claiming it regretted the sad incident, maintained its innocence, absolving itself of complicity, in a statement Stanley Akuneziri, the Awka Branch Manager, which denied any physical assault on the deceased and claimed that at no time was she beaten to death and her body dumped in the swimming pool.
Though acknowledging that Gabriel held a party where money was sprayed and the deceased was singled out and attacked by the party organisers, the statement added: “Contrary to what has been said, 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.”
While commiserating with the family of the deceased, the hotel said it would act in public interest at all times and that it was open to a thorough investigation of the matter, adding that evidence from the CCTV footage of the incident, vindicated them.
“We do not condone any actions that may affect our customers or jeopardise the integrity we have suffered to build over the years. 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. May her soul rest in perfect peace.” Tochukwu Ikenga, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and spokesman of the command who confirmed the incident, assured that the matter would be fully investigated to get to the roots, stating that already four suspects had been arrested in relation to it.
Also confirming that an autopsy would be conducted on the deceased to determine the root cause of her death, he assured that the Police would investigate the case thoroughly while urging the parties and members of the public to remain calm.