The deceased’s elder brother, Mr Sunday Onekanse, who earlier disclosed that the police were reluctant to arrest the Nollywood director has expressed displeasure over the release of Ekene.
Recall that Mr Sunday Onekanse accused the police of complicity in the matter, disclosing that the GRA Division of the Nigerian Police was not ready to arrest the suspected Nollywood Director until the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hafiz Inuwa intervened.
Onekanse has now lamented the release of Ekene from custody as he calls the police action not only painful, but tragic, in spite of available evidence and police record of several threats on her life.
However, a petition by the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Community and Social Development in the state, Mrs Flora Alatan, on Thursday, has indicated state government’s interest in the gruesome murdered of Miss Obiageli Onekanse.
The petition addressed to the state Commissioner of Police, Hafiz Inuwa, in part reads, “We will like to draw the attention of your office to the gruesome murder of Miss Joy Obiageli Onekanse.
“Joy, a 36-year-old woman, was murdered and buried in a shallow grave at No. 4 Anene Basua Street, Asaba, and that the security guard at the compound and her neighbour, Mr Nonso Ekene, have both been identified and confirmed as suspects in the case.
“We are deeply interested in this matter as the ministry is mandated to protect and uphold the rights of women and children in the state; the perpetuators of this crime must be brought to justice.
“In the light of this, our legal officer will be involved in the process.”
A Nollywood Director identified as Nonso Ekene and a security guard, Mr Isaac Sunday have been arrested by the Police in Delta State over the murder of a 36 years businesswoman, Miss Obiageli Onekanse.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the deceased, a bride-to-be who slated her wedding for December, lived with the two suspects at No. 4 Anene street by the Cenotaph, at the High Court axis of the GRA, Asaba until two weeks ago when she was declared missing.
Late Miss Obiageli Onekanse and her Fiance
End, however, came to the search of Obiageli after her mysterious disappearance following a tip-off that her security guard was seen driving one of her cars with his wife and children inside. The security guard was seen with her AVALON saloon car at the Rainoil filling station by Summit junction and the person who spotted the vehicle alerted the Sirki who contracted guard for the security job.
Sirki immediately rushed to Summit Junction and saw Sunday with the lady’s car loaded with the security guard’s luggage and called the police who promptly arrested him. The police in the course of their investigation, had visited the deceased compound but did not find anything incriminating, until yesterday when they discovered a place suspected to be a grave.
The body of the 36-year-old businesswoman was discovered in the shallow grave but in suspicious circumstances. Obiageli Onakanse’s corpse was found buried upside down, two weeks after she was declared missing.
The decomposing body had the hands and legs tied, the neck sliced and stab wounds all over her body.
DCP Olaleye said the gatekeeper confessed to killing Onakanse and burying her in a shallow grave in the vast compound where she lived.
However, prior to Obiageli’s sudden disappearance, it was gathered, that the late businesswoman was having problems with her co-tenant, a Nollywood producer named Nonso Ekene and had reported same at the GRA Divisional Police Station.
Elder brother of the deceased, Mr Sunday Onekanse, accused the police of complicity in the matter, disclosing that the GRA Division of the Nigerian Police was not ready to arrest the suspected Nollywood Director until the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hafiz Inuwa intervened.
While calling for justice in the matter, Mr Onekanse insisted that those involved in the killing must be brought to book.
Police said investigation was ongoing on the matter, adding that the motive for the murder was yet to be established.
It was gathered that this is not the first scandal involving one of the suspect, a Nollywood Director and actor, Nonso Ekene.
Nollywood Director Nonso Ekene
An up and coming actress as at 2012, Boma Tubonimi Arinyedokiari, also based in Asaba, accused the popular director of extorting the sum of N105,000,00 from her, in addition to threatening to deal with her in the event of her backing out of “a six- year contract which she entered with him,” WITHIN NIGERIA cites from Vanguard’s report 8-years ago.
However, the director cum producer petitioned the actress before the leadership of the Actors Guild of Nigeria(AGN) and the two were parties were summoned by the guild for interrogation.
After three years of painstaking work on ‘Badamasi: Portrait of a General’, an authorized biopic on former military President of Nigeria, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), the producer of the film, Nollywood star Obi Emelonye, has been warned against releasing it.
During an interview on Arise TV network ahead of Nigeria’s 59th Independence anniversary, the filmmaker disclosed that he has been getting threats from some dissenting voices who feel the story may not be favorable to their businesses and political interests, owing to some pertinent and controversial historical issues therein.
He said: “I sat down for several interview sessions with the former military President Ibrahim Babangida. It was like a series of night vigils. They were no-holds-barred sessions in terms of areas we could talk about. I asked him questions across the board and he was very forthcoming.
“I think there comes a time in a man’s life when he looks back and his humanity stares at him in the face, and he has to come to terms with who he is and his place in history.
“When the news about making this film broke, there were lots of people that were not very happy about it, but I took it as part of the Babangida legacy. There were dissenting voices coming from social media and I took it as one of those things because you cannot please everybody.
“However, as soon as the date of the release, November 29, got announced on the social media, the ante has been raised a little bit. Those dissenting voices have become outright threats. I get emails talking about beheading. Some say the film will reflect back on their bosses. They say if I dare release the film, they know my address in the UK and all that, but I hold my hands up and say I am on the side of truth and objectivity.”
Announcing the development on his Instagram page, Enyinna Nwigwe who played Ibrahim Babangida in the film, posted: “So apparently @obiemelonye is being threatened over his work, ‘BADAMASI: Portrait of a General.’ Are we still at this point as a people? A film director can’t tell a story about our history anymore? Wow! I can only hope this is just a bunch of mischief-makers, makes no sense in today’s world of story-telling. Rightly quoted, ‘They can only win the battle but not the war.’ Realms will always quake before greatness births…A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” #RobertHeinlein.
The death threats are being investigated by the Nigeria Police Force.
