BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The families of an aged couple, suspected to have been murdered in cold blood by their driver and his conspirators, have announced a N2 million reward for vital and genuine information on the whereabouts of the suspects.
Pa Joseph Oritseretsolokumi Ayonmike, 83 years; and his wife, Dr Shirley Chinyere Ayonmike, were on June 25, 2021, brutally and gruesomely murdered at their residence, Number 28, Mabiaku Road (Nana College Road), GRA Warri, Delta State, allegedly by their driver and others at large.
The couple had been shot, stabbed and cut with machetes by their assailants. Late Joseph Ayonmike was a cultural icon, while his slain wife, Chinyere, was an opera soloist, Technical Vocational Education and Training expert and a senior lecturer at the Delta State University.
Since 2021 after the Nigeria Police Force declared the deceased’s driver, Chukwunonso Nwogu, who has three aliases, including Drey, Kelly and Derek, wanted and tagged him a prime suspect in the murder, his location is still unknown. The family of the couple said it was disturbed over the disappearance of the prime suspect and the inability of the police to track him.
It has asked for the help of members of the public in uncovering what it termed as the “deliberate, intentional and brutal” murder of the Ayonmikes, saying that the gruesome incident was a nightmare that would not go away.
To further accelerate the search and facilitate his possible arrest, the deceased’s family added a financial reward to the manhunt by the police, asking for members of the public with genuine information as to his whereabouts to avail police with such. It was gathered that Nwogu disappeared the moment his principals were murdered and that his whereabouts had yet to be known till date.
Nwogu is said to hail from IsiAlangwa Local Government Area of Abia State. The families appealed to anyone with credible information leading to his arrest to contact: 0807-154- 8887 and 0803-830-0921 or the nearest police station
