Youths of Nchatancha and Obinagu communities in Enugu State yesterday protested against the alleged abduction and killing of Mrs. Pat Ngwu by suspected herdsmen on Wednesday.

The deceased, who hailed from Ndiuno Nchatancha Community in Emene, Enugu East Council Area, had gone to her farm with a wheelbarrow to harvest cassava, but was found dead near a stream yesterday, leading to the protests.

The angry youths blocked the Enugu-Abakaliki highway at Eke Obinagu Market area and Annunciation Hospital junction, burning tyres and beating up people and travelers along the road.

Also, the youths damaged some vehicles and threatened to go after the bandits wherever they may be residing within the community to avenge the woman’s death.

Eyewitness said when the deceased could not return home, her husband raised an alarm and a search was organised to look out for her, but it turned out that when she was found, several machete cuts were found on her lifeless body.

However, security operatives from Emene Police Division brought the situation under control and later took the corpse of the woman to Annunciation Hospital mortuary in Emene.When contacted, Spokesman of Enugu State Police Command, Ebere Amaraizu, said the command has already commenced investigations into the matter.

“Following a report of alleged murder case of a woman on a farmland at Nchatancha community in Emene, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Suleiman Balarabe, directed full scale investigation with a view to establishing what actually happened, those involved and their motives, among others,” she said.

The command further advises members of the public to continue to be law abiding and avoid any action that would breach the existing peace and security in the state as security operatives would leave no stones unturned towards unmasking those behind the dastardly act. Meanwhile, the woman’s corpse has been deposited at the Annunciation Hospital morgue for autopsy.

•Credit (except for amended headline): The Guardian.

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