News
There won’t be coverup, police assures over death of lady who died in Anambra hotel
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.
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: US-Nigeria troops slaughter 175 ISWAP fighters
-
Columns4 weeks agoDear General Gowon: That apology you’re running from is your nemesis
-
News2 weeks agoBREAKING: Terrorists strike Ibadan again! Abduct ex-Minister’s sister, twin children
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Wait over! Arsenal are CHAMPIONS! Win EPL after 22 years hiatus
-
Columns3 weeks agoSee Tinubu’s terrible damage on Option A4 and its precious memories
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Jonathan emerges presidential candidate *Gets automatic PDP ticket!
-
News4 weeks agoPresidency: Obi met all requirements – NDC *Cleared to contest primaries
-
News2 days agoBREAKING: Troops rescue wife of kidnapped General! *Terrorists flee scene