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The Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command has uncovered the alleged sponsors behind the gruesome murder of the traditional ruler of Obudi Agwa community in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, His Royal Majesty Ignatius Asor, along with several others, in a series of violent attacks across the state.
According to a detailed investigation report submitted to the Commissioner of Police by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the unit, ACP Oladimeji Odeyeyiwa, and made available to Channels Television, six suspects have been arrested in connection with the killings.
They include: Milletus Ihueze (also known as Egede), Magnus Ejiogu (alias Emu), Paschal Ibuaku, Uzoechi Okechukwu, Mgbojisor Odunze, and Iwuji Chima Bright.
The investigation revealed that the monarch was assassinated on November 14, 2022, inside his palace by gunmen suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), led by a notorious commander identified as Uzondu Nneji.
Findings from the police report indicate that the attack was allegedly sponsored by Ihueze and Ejiogu, who reportedly paid ₦4 million and ₦1 million respectively to the assailants to carry out the killing.
The suspects are said to have confessed to the crime, citing a long-standing land dispute and previous police petitions as their motive.
Further investigations revealed that the same group was responsible for several other violent crimes between 2022 and 2025, including the killing of six police officers attached to the Agwa Police Division, two expatriates, and several residents across Oguta and neighbouring local government areas.
Other suspects, including Ibuaku, Okechukwu, Odunze, and Bright, reportedly confessed to being members of the IPOB/ESN network, with some identified in viral videos linked to the group’s operations.
The report also named Uzondu Nneji, who escaped from the Owerri Correctional Centre on April 5, 2025, as the operational commander of the ESN cell in Agwa.
Police say he coordinated a number of deadly attacks in Imo communities before going into hiding. Efforts are ongoing to track him down.
Police operatives reportedly raided several ESN camps across Imo State following the revelations, recovering arms, ammunition, criminal charms, and other exhibits, all of which have been properly documented by the Unit Exhibit Officer.
The report recommended that Ihueze, Ejiogu, Ibuaku, Okechukwu, Odunze, and Bright be charged before a competent court for criminal conspiracy, terrorism, treason, arson, unlawful possession of firearms, and murder.
However, the Imo State Police Command says it will intensify efforts to arrest Uzondu Nneji and other members of the gang still on the run.
The Command also assured the public that it will continue to work closely with other security agencies to restore peace and ensure justice for victims of violent attacks in Oguta, Agwa, and other parts of Imo State.
