Mystery surrounding the murder of their 32-year-old, Joseph Chinedu Aniede of Enugu State

The people of Isiogbo Nara community, in Nkanu East Local Council of Enugu State, at the weekend, appealed to the Enugu State Commissioner of Police to unravel the mystery surrounding the murder of their 32-year-old kinsman, Joseph Chinedu Aniede.

Aniede was, until his untimely death, a farmer and hunter in the community.

In a statement, the family asked the police boss to ensure the culprits are brought to book, to serve as a deterrent to others. Aniede, they said, met his death on November 1, this year.

Narrating the incident to newsmen in Enugu, his family members said he had gone out to respond to a call from a phone number, 08144388343, at about 4:00 p.m., on the fateful day but never returned alive.

“…Only for his lifeless body to be found in a pool of his own blood in a bush, near the borders of Isiogbo Nara community of Nkanu East Local Council of Enugu State and Isu community of Onitcha Local Council of Ebonyi State, the next morning,” Akachukwu Aniede said.

Chairman of the Isiogbo Nara Neighbourhood Security Watch, Emeka Eze, disclosed that he was alerted to the sad news by an officer of the Enugu State Forest Guard, who came to him in the early hours of November 2, 2023, and also led him to the scene.

Eze said although the police have since commenced investigation, people of the area are living in fear because such an incident had never happened in the community.

“It is shocking because the Isiogbo Nara community is not in conflict with any of its neighbours; hence, we want to know the source of the crime as nobody knows who is going to be the next,” he said.

Some residents, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the victim was a hardworking and peaceful young man. One of them said: “Before his untimely death, he was a hunter and a farmer. He was also a member of the Isiogbo Nara Community Neighborhood security Watch Group.”

“He was the one providing for his mother (a poor widow) and siblings. And in this case, the family may not have the resources needed to follow up this matter to its logical conclusion.”