WARNING: This story contains a graphic picture. Reader’s discretion is advised.
Dr. Chimezie Osigwe, 64, is a retired school principal of Awa Community Secondary School, Ejemekwuru in Oguta local government area of Imo State. He not only allegedly killed his mother, he was said to have also dried her remains and stored them in a cupboard in a room that allegedly served as his shrine!
The 78-year old mother, Mrs. Lucy Osigwe, reportedly went missing sometime in 2003, some 10 years ago! There was no clue whatsoever about her where-abouts.
Dr. Osigwe lived in a dilapidated house. He had no fleet of cars and estates. Some members of his Ejemekwuru community said he was a recluse. Nobody understood his ways. Everything surrounding him suggested abject poverty!
Two stories were told about how the remains of his allegedly missing mother were found. One of the stories had it that a relation of the man was not particularly happy that Osigwe was reluctant to settle his indebtedness to him and decided to search his house to help himself with whatever he could lay his hands on.
The late Lucy Osigwe’s body inside cupboard
But instead of finding cash, the young boy allegedly stumbled on the old woman’s remains and narrated the story to other relations who then mobilized and stormed Osigwe’s shrine where the boy’s story was allegedly confirmed.
The other story had it that some youths from feelers from the late woman’s maternal home, Amakohia, Awa, also in Oguta local council area, showed that they made the startling discovery.
A villager, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, said that following the inexplicable disappearance of the old woman, some villagers decided to double check the stories told by Osigwe.
“On getting to Ejemekwuru, our people demanded to know why the woman had remained missing for 10 years. the son told the villagers that his mother was mad at a point and ran away to an unknown place”, the villager recounted.
Not satisfied with the response, as well as the non-chalant attitude allegedly exhibited by the son, the villagers, according to the villager, went berserk, destroying things in sight and ended up spotting the large cupboard containing the remains of their loved one.
“With this startling discovery, the villagers quickly lodged a complaint with the police who subsequently swung into action”, he stated.
The suspect, Dr Chimezie Osigwe
Confirming the discovery of the woman’s body, Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Katsina, said it was found in a large cupboard inside the shrine located in the suspect’s private room.
“The missing woman’s lifeless body was found in a village called Ezuru Umuagwu, Ejemekwuru, Oguta local government area of Imo State”, the CP said.
“The corpse of the 78-year-old Mrs. Osigweh, declared missing in 2003, was found in a large cupboard inside the shrine in a private room in a circumstance depicting ritual practice. “The embalmed body, which was kept in that condition for about 10 years, was alleged to have been placed in the warehouse by her son, Chief Dr. Chimezie Osigweh, a 64-year old retired school principal”.
The Imo police boss alleged that the suspect was a member of a sect, adding that “preliminary assessment of the scene of crime revealed that the late woman could have been murdered for ritual purpose”.
Katsina also alleged that members of a sect used to hold secret nocturnal meetings in the place to enhance their occultic powers.
“The principal suspect, Chief Dr. Chimezie Osigwe, who is the son of the woman, has been arrested and is making useful statement to the police”, the CP said.
The suspect refused to disclose why he treated his mother disrespectfully for ten years. He rather pleaded that he should not be forced to say anything for fear of being attacked by his enemies.
“Do you know that I have escaped three assassination attempts? Please, I will not say anything because my enemies are all over the place so that they will not use it to attack me”, Osigwe told journalists.
Irked by the adverse image created by criminal stories from Imo State in recent times, royal fathers from the state rose from an emergency meeting in Owerri, condemning the factory baby saga and Osigwe for allegedly killing his mother for ritual purposes.
The traditional fathers also ordered the banishing of the alleged perpetrators from their ancestral homes. Rolling out the decisions of the royal fathers at the secretariat of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, the Chairman, Eze Sam Agunwa Ohiri, explained that they took the decision in view of the shame the two incidents brought to the state and its people.
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