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Udogachi Security Operatives Arrest Suspects Selling Dead Animals Sacrificed To Omambala Rivers As Meat To Food Vendors

Security operatives in Umudiana, Umueri, in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State, have arrested five persons allegedly involved in the sale of dead and decaying animals that had been used for traditional sacrifices at the Omambala River to food vendors who use them to cook food sold to unsuspecting consumers across the state.

The suspects, Uchenna Onwura (aged 25, from Aguleri), Chigbogu Ogechi (35, Awkuzu), Obalim Chukwujekwu (25, Aguleri), Onyemelichi Chukwuemeka (27, Aguleri), and Onyibor John (27, Aguleri), were apprehended in the early hours of Monday, October 13, 2025, while conveying the carcasses of cows, goats, and fowls in a suspicious manner to an undisclosed destination.

This was corroborated by videos currently trending on different social media platforms, showing the suspects and the animals recovered from them, comprising about four dead cows and undisclosed number of goats and fowls (both dead and alive), which they were conveying using tricycles (Keke) and shuttle bus. Some, according to the security operatives, were emitting a foul stench and also attracting flies, as was seen in the video.

Speaking during interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed that they retrieved the dead animals from the Omambala River, where traditionalists had used them for sacrificial rituals and disposed of them after the rites. They further admitted that they had been in the illegal business for a long time, selling the decaying animals to food vendors at cheap prices, despite their awareness that some of the animals were already decomposing and unsafe for consumption.

One of the suspects, Chigbogu Ogechi, a 35-year-old woman from Awkuzu in Oyi Local Government Area, confessed to selling some of the recovered items at Nkwo Ifitedunu and Oye Nimo markets. She also listed some of their regular buyers, including Uzochukwu Odikpo, popularly known as Mama Kosi from Aguleri, who runs a restaurant, and “Nwanyi Aba” of Okpoko, who reportedly sells food and fried meat.

The suspects further disclosed that the group had been “settling” some security personnel in the past to allow their operations to continue unchecked.

When interrogated, Mama Kosi allegedly admitted to being aware that the animals were being brought from the river after sacrificial rituals but claimed she was not using the meat for cooking. According to her, the meat displayed in her shop’s show glass for customers was not sourced from the river.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that operatives of the Udo Ga-Achị Security Network are currently handling the investigation and are working to unravel the full network of individuals involved in the disturbing trade, which poses serious health and ethical concerns.

Written by Ogona Anita

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