Local youths accused prominent community member Ichie Millions, also known as Ezeani, of using his expansive compound for illegal activities, including rituals and kidnapping, causing chaos Tuesday in the otherwise peaceful Umumba Ndiagu community in Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State.
Ezeani, who had posed as a businessman, was allegedly a native physician with a sinister secret.
The self-described businessman Ezeani was accused of abducting people from his compound. The indigenous physician was accused of ritually burying victims alive in soak-away holes, including children and pregnant women.
The youths were astounded by what they discovered in Ezeani’s compound when they began their quest for the truth. The neighborhood was completely taken aback by the finding of bodies buried in soak-away holes.
The angry young people were shown looting Ezeani’s compound, including what looked to be his shrine, in a social media video that went viral. As the community learned of the horrific nature of his acts, the situation became more intense.
In a video that went viral, one of the young victims who only managed to escape Ezeani’s grasp described her terrifying ordeal. “My dad and I went to get firewood so we could fry our garri,” she recalled. When his soldiers arrived, my dad gave them his cutlass. They suddenly seized me and held me in a trench they had excavated. Fortunately, the Neighborhood Watch officers heard my sobs and came to my aid.
A neighborhood member can be heard discussing the discovery in another startling video, stating, “We have caught the killers.” They kill people. There are dead bodies within. Numerous people have been killed by them. They wanted to exploit a 13-year-old child that we recently rescued for ritual purposes.
Additionally, the video revealed that the young people had captured a suspect posing as a security guard that Ezeani had employed to secure his compound.
The incensed youngsters stripped this individual, who was recognized in the video, naked, bound him, and abandoned him in the courtyard. The man acknowledged that he frequently visited Ezeani’s home for ceremonial purposes, but he denied any role in the murders.
During his interrogation by the irate teenagers, the suspect, who called Ezeani “Daddy Ezeani,” said, “I came here as a businessman. It was left to make a water sacrifice for me after I had completed a few other sacrifices. I waited for everything to be completed for me. There are tasks to complete, but I’m not sure how he accomplished them. Here, however, they typically send the visitor on an errand. This place’s owner, Daddy Ezeani, instructed me to keep it safe and deter visitors.
Ezeani was apparently on the run and his whereabouts were unknown at the time of the finding. However, the neighborhood retaliated by burning his house and cars after the teenagers allegedly caught several of his wives.
Authorities Start a Manhunt for a Native Doctor Who Is Running Away
Bitrus Giwa, the police commissioner, is alleged to have authorized a manhunt for the fugitive native physician.
“Police operatives of the Enugu State Command, attached to the Umumba Division, in collaboration with Neighbourhood Watch personnel and vigilant community members, successfully rescued a 13-year-old girl (name withheld), allegedly kidnapped for ritual murder, at Umuojor village in Ishiagu community of Ezeagu Local Government Area,” in a statement released by the command’s spokesman, SP Daniel Ndukwe.
Additionally, three male suspects in the crime were apprehended as a result of the operation: Uche Kingsley Agumba, 33; Ilo Nweze Onyedikachi, 36; and Ejike Odinwankpa, 38. A famous member of the community and a native doctor, Levi Onyeka Obu, also known by his nicknames “Ezeani” and “E-Dey-Play-E-Dey-Show,” is the leading suspect. He fled the scene and is still at large.
Two decaying bodies—one male and one female—were found during the rescue in a concrete-sealed hole within an incomplete building that belonged to the escaping prime suspect and was used for terrible criminal operations as well as a shrine.
Investigations show that the suspects had recently killed the victims and buried them in the pit for ceremonial reasons, and that the rescued child had just been saved from the same fate before the prompt intervention.
“The buildings used for the criminal enterprise and owned by the fugitive prime suspect have been demolished by the Enugu State Government in accordance with its laws.
“The police officers, community people, and local security organizations that worked together to make the operation successful were complimented by Commissioner of Police CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, who visited the crime scene right away.
“With a strong resolve to see justice done, he has also instructed the Command’s Tactical Squads, Investigation and Intelligence Units, and others to step up efforts in locating the fugitive suspect and other fugitive accomplices.”
