Traditional leader of Enugu is detained by police after housekeeper’s body was burned

The body of a 9-year-old housekeeper named Precious Korshima was allegedly burned at the hands of a traditional ruler in Enugu State (whose name has been withheld).

The traditional leader was detained for hours before being released on bail.

Prior to her murder, Precious worked as a housekeeper for Mrs. Ujunwa Ugwoke in the Fidelity Estate neighbourhood of Enugu.

Precious was reportedly beaten to death by Mrs. Ugwuoke, who afterwards abandoned her body along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.

The father of the dead, James Achikpi Korshima, was quoted by the Civil Rights Realization and Advancement Network (CRRAN), through its president, Olu Omotayo, Esq., in a petition to the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, claiming that the body had been set ablaze by villagers.

According to Omotayo, Korshima claimed that when the police arrived at the scene, they discovered that the community’s traditional leader had instructed the youngsters to burn the decaying body due to the foul odour it was emitting.

Additionally, he said that the traditional chief committed an illegal act without alerting security personnel to the body’s location.

“We argue that this is a clear case of murder, and the investigation of the case has nothing to do with the Anti-Kidnapping Base,” the petition stated in part.

“We humbly request that you immediately direct the Homicide section of the State Criminal and Investigation Department (State CID) of the State Police Headquarters, Enugu, to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this terrible act.

The youngster was brutally and barbaricly murdered by Ujunwa Ugwuoke, who then discarded the body in a bush. The accused traditional chief then gave the go-ahead to burn the body.

Korshima also made an appeal for justice, saying that he has grown frustrated after making countless trips to the anti-kidnapping base over the course of more than a month and believes he may not receive justice.

Further, Korshima requested that the body of his slain child be released to him so that he might properly bury the child.