By OSWALD AGWU

Five years after Miss Nnenna Onu, 35, 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 grappling with trauma and the absence of justice.

Nnenna was killed on December 23, 2021 by assailants suspected to be members of her extended paternal family. The case which saturated media space, sparked outrage and wide condemnation from rights groups and the public at the time.

Family sources allege the killing was connected to a dispute over inheritance.

According to the family, Nnenna, the elder of two daughters, only children of their mother, resisted attempts by some prominent members of their extended family to bury their father without the consent of the two daughters. The act, they claim, was aimed at dispossessing the two sisters of their right to their father's landed property on account of their gender.

Her resistance reportedly earned her multiple death threats, allegedly spearheaded by a paternal cousin.

In an interview with our reporter in Abakaliki recently, Nnenna's younger sister, Juliet Ogonnaya Onu, said the family has lived in fear and pain 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, remain at large while the pace of investigation has been slow.

Ogonnaya expressed disappointment over how the police handled another key suspect – her paternal cousin, Mr. David Okoronkwo Ukpa, popularly known as "ATS".

"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.

"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," she said.

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

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 harm her mother, herself or any member 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 to enable her settle down in her husband's compound.

Meanwhile, 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, Ukpa, 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.