Warning: the following article contains graphic details which may upset readers.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones. Abia State is located in the South East geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. (It is not to be confused with Abia, a town in Enugu State, north of Abia State, also in the South East geopolitical zone.)
The capital of Abia State is Umuahia.
Abia State is an inland state and one of Nigeria’s smallest states. With a surface area of 6,320 km2 it ranks 32nd (out of 36 states). It had an estimated population of nearly 5 million people, the majority of whom are Christians (2024) resulting in a 26th position. The most populous city is Aba, the state’s commercial center.
In 1991, Abia state was created out of Imo State, the two states are considered sister states and were part of the Eastern Region which in the late 1960s attempted to secede (Biafran War). The Igbo people are one of the indigenous peoples of the South-eastern part of Nigeria and make up 95% of the population.
A traditional local ruler, His Royal Highness (HRH) Eze Philip Ajomuiwe, recently raised the alarm, revealing that over 30 bodies had been dumped into the Imo river between 2024 and February 2025. Reportedly the corpses found were mutilated, a sign that the victims had been killed for ritualistic purposes.
Since the authorities have failed to arrest any suspects, the monarch expressed his worries that the situation of fear in the region will last and he was appealing to the state government to take immediate and adequate action.
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Police probe discovery of 30 mutilated corpses in Abia community
Published: February 7, 2025
By: Steve Oko – Vanguard, Nigeria
The Abia State Police Command said it had launched an investigation into the alleged discovery of 30 bodies of suspected ritual killings in Imo River in Oriendu community.
This is coming on the heels of the alarm by the traditional ruler of the community, HRH Eze Philip Ajomuiwe, that over 30 bodies had been dumped into the river between 2024 and February 2025.
Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chilaka, told Vanguard that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ohuhu Police Division, had commenced an investigation into the sad development.
She said the community shared a boundary with Imo State, adding that Police were collaborating with vigilantes in the area to unravel those behind the dastardly act.
The PPRO said that even though there had been no official complaint to the police about the ugly incident, the Command based on the inquiries by Vanguard, had initiated an investigation into the matter.
She vowed that those behind the heinous crime would not escape the long arm of the law.
Eze Ajomuiwe had while addressing newsmen in his palace at the weekend, revealed that over 30 bodies, mostly young ladies had been dumped into the river by suspected ritualists from Imo State.
He said that the bodies, usually naked and without private parts, were dumped into the river in the middle of the night by the killers as the community wakes to see them in the morning.
He said: “The bodies, like the recent one, are either completely naked and without their private parts or in a bag. There have also been cases of two decomposing bodies seen beside the NNPC pipeline.
“The victims are mostly young girls. The ritualists from Imo usually come at night to dump the bodies of their victims inside the Imo River, and in the morning we wake to see them”.
The monarch expressed worry that no arrest had been made by security agencies since the incident began, adding that his subjects now live in fear.
According to him, efforts by the community’s vigilante group to arrest the suspects had failed too, because the group is not as equipped as the suspects are said to be.
“So, we’re appealing to the state government to empower the vigilante group with the necessary logistics and the wherewithal to enable it to match the suspects,” he said.
He argued that nobody ever embarks on such a mission with empty hands especially when the enemy is fully armed with sophisticated weapons and is ready to fight back.
The monarch said that his complaints about the situation to security agents had been to no avail, noting that the latest was a letter to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly on February 7.
“ We have reported even to the DSS and they came here and held a meeting with us. We need the Government’s intervention to apprehend those behind this atrocity”.
Source: Police probe discovery of 30 dead bodies in Abia community
