THE death of a 76-year-old wife of the traditional ruler of Ihitoha Uratta community, Owerri North council, Imo State, Ugoeze Comfort Okoro, in the custody of kidnappers has been confirmed by the family.
The corpse of the woman was reportedly found along a village road in Akabor community in Oguta Local Government.
This is just as the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police command, raided the house of one Okey Uche from the village, who is currently serving a prison term at the Owerri Correctional Center and arrested some suspects, fingered in the kidnap of the deceased.
The wife of the prisoner, it was gathered, was said to have harboured the suspects in her house when the police raided the place and arrested the suspects.
It was gathered that the monarch’s wife was kidnapped before her husband and other domestic staff on Sunday, January 26, 2020, barely one month after she and her husband celebrated their 50 years wedding anniversary.
Prince Paul Okoro, younger brother to HRH Eze Dr. Emmanuel Okoro Oha 1 of Ihitoha Uratta, who confirmed the incident described it as sad, saying the death came after the family had paid the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
He said before the woman was taken away, there were sporadic shootings, which left the woman panicking before she was moved away.
According to him, the body of the woman was found last Sunday where it was dumped at Akabor Oguta.
He said: “On Sunday January 26, 2020, a group of boys stormed the palace here and gathered the guards and all around at gun point and met the Eze and wife upstairs around 8.30 pm.
“They collected everybody’s phones including that of the Eze. They took Ugoeze away. It was after they left that one of the servants came to me to call the president general of the community that the unthinkable has happened.
