Edo: Woman, 72, killed, buried in farm

Police have exhumed the corpse of a 72-year-old female trader, identified as Mrs Vero Akazuma, who was killed and buried in a shallow grave on a farm at Afuze, in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State.

NewsNow learnt that the corpse of the deceased was exhumed from the grave by a combined team of police, vigilantes and mortuary attendants. She was reportedly killed on June 17, 2024, when her regular customer called her from Auchi to come and purchase corn on his farm.

The deceased and the farmer, according to eyewitnesses, boarded a motorcycle to the farm.

NewsNow also learnt that the farmer, instead of selling corn to the woman, killed her, took her money, buried her remains in a shallow grave and escaped.

It was further gathered that the children who were worried when their mother did not return home reported the incident to police stations in Auchi and Afuze, respectively, where she was subsequently declared missing.

The case was transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Unit of the Edo State Police Command, which went into extensive investigation.

During the investigations, the deceased’s mobile phone was traced to the commercial motorcyclist who conveyed them to the farm, and he was arrested. The motorcyclist, during interrogation, admitted to taking the duo to the farm but added that he only dropped them on the farm and left her with one Michael, the farmer.

As part of the ongoing investigations, policemen from the Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Unit embarked on bush combing operations. The efforts paid off on June 26, 2024, when they discovered a grave in the bush where she was buried. They exhumed the decomposing body of the woman from the grave and deposited it in the mortuary for an autopsy and further investigation.

The farmer, whom the locals identified as Michael, is currently at large, as police assured that he would be fished out of his hideout.

In a video that has gone viral at the scene of the exhumation of the corpse, the son of the deceased is heard describing the incident as fortunate.

The son, identified as Mr Okonofua, said his mother hailed from Esan West Local Government Area but married in Esan Central Local Government Area.

While lamenting the killing of his mother, he stated that instead of only collecting her money, they also took her life.

Okonofua, who was heard speaking in the background of the video, wept profusely, stating that his mother travelled from Auchi, where she lived, to Afuze to purchase the corn, but she never returned home.