Body of Missing 78-year-old Woman Found in Son's Bedroom, 10 Years After

IGP, MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR

For 10 years, they had searched in vain. During that period, family and friends were thrown into confusion over what fate had befallen a 78-year-old woman, Mrs. Lucy Osigweh, whose whereabouts remained unknown for that long. Was she  kidnapped? But even if she were, the kidnappers should have made a demand for ransom since then.  With the intense search for her not yielding any result, the people of  Ejemekwuru community in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State in 2003 had declared Osigweh  missing. But that did not resolve the puzzle over her whereabouts.

The puzzle was resolved yesterday as the embalmed body of Osigweh  was found inside a wardrobe in her eldest son’s room. The bizarre action of her son and retired school principal, Dr. Chimezie Osigweh, prompted his arrest by the police to explain why he kept the body of his mother in the wardrobe and for that long.

The suspect, who is believed to be a strong devotee of the Guru Maharaji sect, told reporters that the body of his late mother was embalmed after she died some years ago.

A source told THISDAY that until monday, each time the family members requested to know the whereabouts of the suspect's mother, he had always told them that he sent her to an unnamed foreign country.

Narrating how his mother died, her son said: “That evening sometime in 2003, I was meditating in my temple when my mother came in to ease herself. Suddenly, I heard a big noise  and I went in to find her groaning.  I took her to her room and laid her on the bed and shortly after, she passed on.

“But you see she is still here but I can’t tell you why she is here 10 years after because the enemies of Guru Maharaji are all over here I will talk to you people in camera.”

He said he had been a member of the sect for 24 years and had attained a high spiritual level.

Also briefing reporters, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammad Musa Katsina, said the bizarre incident was uncovered by the Ambush Squad attached to the command, after a tip-off.

According to him, the suspect’s house serves as a meeting point for ritualists who converge there to perpetrate atrocities.

“We have information about the large number of devotees that patronise the shrine, which will help us identify those behind the heinous act,” he added.

THISDAY gathered that the police were tipped off by the son of the suspect whose identity has been withheld for security reasons.

According to a source, the informant discovered the body of his grandmother after he ventured into his father’s secret room in search of his credentials.