Man Hacks Brother To Death Over Witchcraft Allegation

KINGSLEY EBERE 

Police operatives have began manhunt for a middle-aged man, Nwalozie Chiwendu, for  allegedly killing his elder brother, Chidiebere Isaiah, with a cutlass over suspicion of witchcraft in Rivers State.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the incident happened 12th February, 2026, around 4pm in Umunwacha village, Ofeh community, Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State.

According to the residents, Chiwendu accused his brother of practising witchcraft and using it to hinder his business success.
He reportedly used a cutlass to inflict multiple wounds on his body, which led to his death. He fled and currently at large as local authorities launched a manhunt.

This was confirmed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, who said the Police have launched a manhunt for the culprit in order to bring him to face the law.

She stated that the matter was reported to the Police Division in Eberi, Omuma Local Government Area.

“Information at my disposal indicates that the suspect used cutlass to cut the victim to death after accusing him (victim) of witchcraft that made him (suspect) not to prosper,” she said.

“The corpse has been retrieved, deposited in the mortuary and a manhunt has been launched for the suspect with a view to arresting and bringing him to face the law in compliance to the directive of Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju.

Meanwhile, the community has launched a search for the perpetrator, vowing to apprehend the suspect and hand him over to the law enforcement agencies for proper investigation.

The Youth President of Ofeh community, Mr. Chinonso Favour Chima, who confirmed the incident, described it as a very unfortunate situation.

“Yesterday within the evening hours, I got a call from some of my community persons telling me of the sad incident that happened between two brothers of the same compound,” he said.

“I cannot tell what happened, but the story is that the younger one carried cutlass and butchered his elder brother like meat and ran away, before the persons that were around in the community could come.”

“So, after I received the call, I directed them to quickly rush him to the hospital and I was running down from town to see how we can attend to the matter.”

“On my way, they took him to the first hospital, but they could not attend to him, before they could reach another hospital, the man gave up.
Because it is a murder case, I told them we cannot deposit him in the mortuary just like that. We then reported it to the nearest Police Division within us here, notifying them of what happened and Police have taken note of it.”

“The boy that committed the crime is on the run, we are looking for him. Community has declared a search for him everywhere. We are searching for him to get him so that he can face the full wrath of the law.

“But for now, we have deposited the deceased in the mortuary. I have also tried to address the community and ask everybody to stay calm, we should not take laws into our hands. Let us not cause more panic in the community, we are still talking with critical stakeholders of the community” he stated.