The Anambra State Government, through the state Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Welfare, has ordered an investigation into the alleged murder of Mrs. Ogechukwu Okafor by her husband, pastor Elijah Okafor.
The incident occurred on August 13, 2024, but the deceased family reported it to the ministry after the husband made suspicious gestures.
Chidimma Ikeanyionwu, the media aide to the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, made the announcement in a press statement on Wednesday.
According to Ikeanyionwu, the claimed assault occurred in the Nimo community of the state’s Njikoka Local Government Area, where the perpetrator is said to be a pastor.
The statement read in part, “The deceased uncle, Mr. Samuel Onuorah, from Abatete community, who led the family member to lay the complaint at the ministry, alleged that he got a call from her late niece’s husband that her niece, Ogechukwu, fell from a four-story building and died.
“Mr. Elijah Emeka Ibeabuchi, who hails from Nimo in the Njikoka Local Government Area of the Anambra State, is the husband to the late Ogechukwu Okafor.
“Seeking justice at the office of the Commissioner for Women Affairs, the uncle of the deceased, Mr. Onuorah, noted that they discovered that their daughter did not fall as claimed by the husband but was rather killed with a knife, stabbed on her neck and chest by Elijah.
“He further revealed that their doubts were cleared after they went to the mortuary where the said husband had deposited their daughter’s corpse and saw evidently that she didn’t fall from any two-story building as claimed by the husband.”
In response to the development, the commissioner, Ify Obinabo, urged all stakeholders—women’s groups, human rights advocates, and social media users—to join the state government in ensuring that the deceased receive justice.
Obinabo promises that the state administration will investigate the incident and encourages everyone to speak out on the topic.
She also stated that she would tell the state governor and that the incident would be investigated to ensure that the deceased received justice.
