Operatives of the Anambra State Police Command have taken into custody a 28-year-old man, identified as Friday Akonobi, in connection with the abduction and suspected ritual killing of a six-year-old girl, police said on Sunday.
Spokesman for the command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, told journalists that Akonobi was arrested in the early hours of January 17, 2026, by officers attached to the Rapid Response Squad at Awkuzu after information was received linking him to the crime.
According to the police, preliminary inquiries indicate the victim, Ozioma Nwankwo, was abducted from Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State on May 10, 2025.
She was allegedly handed over to an Enugu based native doctor, Obieze Ezeani, popularly known as “Edey Play” or “Edey Show,” the statement added.
Ikenga said Akonobi confessed during interrogation that he acted with four other suspects who remain at large and that the syndicate received payment for delivering virgins to the alleged native doctor.
“They were reportedly paid ₦1 million for every virgin handed over,” the police spokesman said, adding that the suspect admitted the child was killed and that her body was used for ritual purposes.
The Anambra police spokesman further stated that the Enugu State Police Command has since detained the suspected native doctor.
The arrest followed widespread public attention after related video footage circulated on social media, the statement noted.
SP Ikenga assured the public that efforts are ongoing to locate and arrest the remaining members of the gang and that updates will be issued as the investigation progresses.
In a related development, the command also disclosed the earlier arrest of a separate suspect in a domestic homicide.
On January 7, operatives from the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka arrested Anikpe Chibuike, 26, over the December 9, 2025 killing of his girlfriend, Ogechukwu Mmadubugwu, a 35-year-old single mother, in Ekwulobia, Aguata LGA.
The case remains under investigation.