Shock spread through Igbo‑Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu State after three people were killed by family members in two shocking attacks on Friday, May 15, 2026, in Nkporogwu Ukehe and Agu‑Ekwegbe.
In Nkporogwu Ukehe, a middle‑aged man allegedly attacked and beheaded his mother with a cutlass. The dead woman was identified as 60‑year‑old Felicia Anikwe; the suspect is named as Onyebuchi Anikwe, about 40. Villagers mobbed the man before police stepped in.
The Enugu State Police Command confirmed the cases in a statement on Sunday, May 17, 2026. “The Enugu State Police Command confirms two separate gruesome murder incidents that occurred on 15th May 2026 in different communities within Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area” the statement read.
“In the first incident, Police Operatives attached to the Igbo-Etiti Division, at about 3:10 p.m., responded to a report alleging that one Anikwe Onyebuchi (male, aged about 40) used a cutlass to behead and murder his 60-year-old mother, Anikwe Felicia, at Nkporogwu Ukehe Community.
“The corpse and severed head of the deceased were recovered and taken to the hospital, where doctors confirmed her dead, after which the remains were deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.”
Minutes later in Agu‑Ekwegbe, police say Joshua Eze used a cutlass to attack his sister, Nwabuche Eze, and her young daughter, Favour Eze. “In a separate incident reported the same day at about 3:18 p.m., operatives of the Command’s Distress Response Squad stationed at Ekwegbe Junction along the Ugwuagu/Opi/Nsukka Road responded to a distress call alleging that one Joshua Eze similarly used a cutlass to sever the heads of his sister, Nwabuche Eze, and her little daughter, Favour Eze, at Agu-Ekwegbe Community,” the statement read.
“The remains of the deceased victims were recovered and taken to the hospital, where doctors confirmed them dead, after which the corpses were deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.”
Police say the first suspect was rescued from a beaten mob, rearrested and taken for treatment; the second suspect was also pulled from a mob but later died in hospital. “Preliminary investigations further revealed that after allegedly m8rdering the victims, he buried their remains in a shallow grave alongside a dead white cock, suggesting possible ritual intentions,” the statement added.
Commissioner of Police Mamman Giwa condemned the killings, ordered investigations and warned residents not to take the law into their own hands.
