A 30-year-old man has allegedly murdered his 25-year-old apprentice in Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.
The suspect, simply identified as Leberechi, subsequently dumped the body of the yet-to-be-identified apprentice inside a refrigerator.
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The incident, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, happened on Tuesday in Okpoko, an urban community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The suspect is a vehicle spare parts dealer at the Mgbuka Spare Parts Market which is located along the Onitsha-Owerri Road in the state.
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PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the suspect had gone home with the apprentice after the close of business on Saturday 30 August 2025 but failed to return to the market on 2 September.
A shop owner in the market told this newspaper that many suspected foul play when the victim did not show up in the market on Tuesday given that businesses do not hold in the market on Monday due to the infamous sit-at-home enforced by a faction of an outlawed separatist group, IPOB
“The man (Leberechi) did not give a clear explanation when we asked him for his boy and then some people moved for a search in his house where the boy’s mutilated body was found in a fridge,” he said
“They later dragged him back to the market and started beating him before someone came with policemen.”
Police speak
The police in Anambra State have confirmed the incident.
In a statement on Wednesday, the police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the suspect was rescued by police operatives while was on the verge of being lynched.
“He (suspect) was immediately rushed to the hospital for medical attention and is currently under armed guards to prevent escape.
“The operatives visited the scene of the murder and discovered the decomposed body parts of the victim hidden inside a refrigerator,” said Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police.
“The remains were subsequently evacuated to a mortuary for preservation and autopsy.”
The police spokesperson said the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Ikioye Orutugu, has directed an immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka, for investigation.
Prohibited in Nigeria
Murder is outlawed in Section 315 (6) of Nigeria Criminal Code Act. Offenders, on conviction, face death sentence, section 319 (1) said.
Several persons have been convicted for murder. A high court in Lokoja, Kogi State, in January 2022, sentenced a man, Muritala Dare to death by hanging for stabbing his colleague to death with a broken bottle.
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