Landlord arrested by police for throwing out tenant’s belongings found dead in uncompleted building

Accusing fingers are being pointed at the police after the body of a missing landlord, Nyebuchi Eke, was found in an uncompleted building in Rivers State.

It was gathered that Eke’s body was discovered precisely in Chokocho, Etche, on Monday night, November 20, 2023 after his disappearance in police custody.

According to the punch, the deceased was said to have been in the custody of the Officer in Charge of Surveillance since November 17.

It was gathered that a tenant had alleged that his landlord (the deceased) threw some of his belongings outside following an argument and invited the police leading to the latter’s arrest.

The landlord reportedly disappeared afterwards, as it took the intervention of the Woji Council of Chiefs to draw the attention of the police to the situation and demanded the police officer reveal the whereabouts of Nyebuchi who was last seen in a police van.

Some youths subsequently demanded for justice for the late landlord. The protesting youths threw stones and broken bottles at the police operatives, while they set fire on the streets to protest the death of the landlord.

The officer and the tenant were taken into custody afterwards, but it did not douse the protest which began on Sunday as the youths went on the rampage.

The youths blocked the road and damaged some shops in a fit of anger to express their grievances.

On Monday, in the company of some chiefs in the area and Nyebuchi’s family, the police recovered the landlord’s body from an uncompleted building in Chokocho in Etche Local Government Area of the state far away from the police division that arrested him.

When the news filtered into the Woji community, it sparked a fresh protest especially as his body was found in a bad condition, as the youths blocked the road and reportedly clashed with the police.

An elder brother to the deceased and former Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA, Solomon Eke, said his family wanted the police to take his brother’s body to a government-approved mortuary for proper preservation.

“The officer in charge of the investigation in the murder of my younger brother went on an assessment at the scene and then from there they recovered certain things. They carried the suspect to what they said is a mortuary in Igbo-Etche, Etche LGA and saw the body with bruises all over,” Solomon said.

“So, we are calling on the police to do the needful by taking the corpse to a government-recognised morgue for proper preservation and then continue the investigation.”

He appealed to the youths not to take the law into their own hands despite their anger.

“The people who went there from the community and my family are not happy. When they came back, they were angry and started rampaging which I have warned that nobody should take the law into their own hands,” he said.

“Nobody should demonstrate and disrupt activities in the community. I’m not in support of that. I want a peaceful environment so that all hands will be on deck and the police will do their job. We the family are pained by what happened and we will not allow it to go like that.”

Spokesperson of the State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the incident to the publication, said the Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, had visited the deceased’s family and commiserated with them.

The PPRO also said the suspect (tenant) and three policemen linked to the matter had been arrested and were under investigation.

“Yes, I can confirm the incident and the CP led a management team to visit the scene and also condole with the family of the deceased,” she said.

“Meanwhile, the suspect and three policemen who allegedly perpetrated that act have been arrested. They have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department. The matter is still ongoing as I speak with you.”