Five years after Miss Nnenna Onu, a 35 year old lady, was brutally murdered and set ablaze in her father’s compound in Anike-Onicha, Onicha LGA of Ebonyi State, her aged mother and younger sister say they are still battling trauma and the absence of justice.

Nnenna was killed on December 23, 2021 by a group of assailants suspected to have colluded with her paternal cousins. The case, which sparked outrage and wide condemnation from rights groups and the public, was allegedly linked to a dispute over inheritance within the extended family.

Family sources allege that Nnenna, the elder of two daughters, only children of their mother, resisted attempts by some prominent kinsmen to bury her father without the consent of his children. The act, they claim, was intended to dispossess the sisters of their right to their father’s landed property.

Her resistance reportedly earned her multiple death threats, allegedly spearheaded by one of her senior cousins, Mr. David Okoronkwo Ukpa, popularly known as “ATS”.

Speaking in Abakaliki recently, Nnenna’s younger sister, Juliet Ogonnaya Onu, said the family has lived in fear and agony since the incident.

She commended the Police for arresting and arraigning one of the suspects, Chidiebere Okoro nwaokorie on March 9, 2026, but lamented that other named suspects, including Uchechi Okoro nwaokorie still remain at large and that the pace of investigation has been slow.

Ogonnaya expressed disappointment over how the Police handled Mr. Ukpa, whom she alleged was the mastermind.

“Recently, the Police called me and said they had in custody one of the accused persons I consider the prime suspect, Mr. David Okoronkwo Ukpa. He has been on the run since 2021,” she said.

“When I went to the station and made my statement, they asked him a few questions. After he denied involvement, he was allowed to go. He now brags that nothing will happen. I expected the Police to detain and thoroughly interrogate him.”

Ogonnaya alleged that days before the murder, Ukpa threatened Nnenna.

“A few days before my sister’s murder, he came to our house and threatened that she would die with incomplete body parts,” she alleged.

She further alleged that after the killing, the assailants severed one of Nnenna’s legs.

“When my sister was killed, the assailants, true to Mr. Ukpa’s word, cut off and fled with one of her legs. I believe it was to present to Mr. Ukpa as evidence that they had carried out their agreement,” she alleged.

She added that as the eldest grandson in the family, Ukpa wields strong influence and has neither condemned the killing nor made efforts to identify the perpetrators.

Beyond justice, Ogonnaya appealed to the state government and human rights groups to help the family secure their inheritance and guarantee their safety.

“My mother is aged and traumatized. She is staying with me now, but she is homeless in the real sense because she has no home in her husband’s compound,” she said.

“She fled for her life after the incident due to threats from Mr. Ukpa and his cohorts. But she cannot continue to live in exile at her age.”

She urged authorities to prevail on the Police to rearrest and properly investigate Ukpa, and to compel him and his alleged cohorts to sign an undertaking never to cause any harm on her, her mother or others members of her immediate family. She also called on the traditional ruler of the community, Eze Ferdinand Okoronkwo Nwujor, and family stakeholders to release her mother’s share of the inheritance.

As of the time of filing this report, efforts to get the reaction of the Ebonyi State Police Command on the status of the case and the release of the suspect were unsuccessful.

However, the State Coordinator, Ebonyi State Gender-based Violence Taskforce, Barr. Faith-vin Nwanchor has condemned all acts geared towards robbing female children off inheritance rights, stressing that there are laws, including the Ebonyi State Violence Against Persons Prohibition law (VAPP) and Supreme court rulings opposed to the practice.

She commended the National Human Rights Commission, Ebonyi State Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Centre, Ebonyi State Family Law Centre and other rights institutions and organisations which have been following the matter and urged them to join forces in renewed effort to secure justice for the family.

Nwanchor assured that the Taskforce will continue to contribute all within its powers to ensure justice is served in the matter.