The police in Ebonyi state have detained a young man named Ikenna Ogbonna Ota from the community of Azuoto Okpoitumo in the state’s Abakaliki Local Government Area.
Ota was detained for reportedly stealing a cow and offering it as part of the funeral ceremonies for his deceased father-in-law.
Ota reportedly paid a visit to his in-laws’ home on Friday, December 9, 2022, to provide the necessary paperwork for their father’s funeral. He had gone to the event with a female cow that he is accused of stealing from his neighborhood.
Unfortunately for him, Thomas Agbo, the owner of the stolen native cow, who had grown to care for the deceased’s family, was able to recognize the cow the son-in-law was presenting as his missing cow and raised an alarm.
Four days prior to the day of his neighbor’s father-in-burial, law’s Agbo claimed he went to check on the cow in the bush as part of a routine check but was unable to see it since it was tied there.
At the Ebia Unuphu Community, when he went to console the family of Okemini Oyibe, he revealed that he was shocked to see the stolen cow. He claimed to have witnessed the cow being tied to a few other Fulani cows as part of a demonstration for the rituals.
“Ikenna Ogbonna Ota is my neighbour. I knew his father-in-law was dead and the burial was slated for 9th of December. Days before the ceremony, one of my cows went missing. All efforts by my children to find it were not successful until I coincidentally saw it being presented at Ebia Unuhu by IKenna for the burial rites of his father-in-law,” he said
The suspect admitted not stealing the cow when questioned. He claimed to have purchased it from “Mr. No Time” at Azu-Ebonyi, Amachi Unuphu, a community close to Azuoto Okpuitumo, for the price of N110,000 (one hundred and ten thousand naira only).
According to the police, charges against the suspect will be filed in court after the investigation.
