Police Arrests Man For Allegedly Stealing A Cow For Father In-law’s Burial

Ikenna Ogbonna Ota, a resident of the Azuoto Okpoitumo community in the Abakaliki Local Government Area, has been detained by the Ebonyi State Police Command on suspicion of stealing a cow and using it as part of his late father-in-funeral law’s rituals.

On Friday, December 9, 2022, Ota paid a visit to his in-laws’ house to provide the supplies for their father’s burial.

He had gone to the event with a female cow that he is accused of stealing from his neighborhood.

Unfortunately for him, Thomas Agbo, the owner of the stolen native cow, who had grown to care for the deceased’s family, was able to recognize the cow the son-in-law was presenting as his missing cow and raised an alarm.

Agbo said he went for a routine check on the cow in the bush four days before the burial date of his neighbor’s father-in-law but could not see the cow where it was tied.

He explained that he was surprised to see the stolen cow at Ebia Unuphu Community where he went to commiserate with the family of Okemini Oyibe.

He said that he saw the cow being tied with some Fulani cows for a presentation for the rites.

“Ikenna Ogbonna Ota is my neighbour. I knew his father-in-law was dead and the burial was slated for 9th of December.”

“Days before the ceremony, one of my cows went missing. All efforts by my children to find it were not successful until I coincidentally saw it being presented at Ebia Unuhu by IKenna for the burial rites of his father-in-law,” he said