Chidiebere had visited Hotel Royal Damgrate in Umuahia, Abia State, on April 9, 2024, to swim with two fellow cadet officers but was later pronounced dead under questionable circumstances.
The family of late Air Force cadet officer Emmanuel Chidiebere Onyeomereneche, who was killed at Hotel Royal Damgrate in Abia State, has expressed frustration over the state government’s lack of response to their calls for intervention.
Chidiebere had visited Hotel Royal Damgrate in Umuahia, Abia State, on April 9, 2024, to swim with two fellow cadet officers but was later pronounced dead under questionable circumstances.
Shortly after the incident, the Abia State Police Command released a report stating that Chidiebere had drowned in the hotel’s swimming pool. However, his father rejected the police findings, insisting that his son was murdered.
In September 2024, SaharaReporters revealed that an insider source stated the autopsy confirmed that the officer was likely murdered at Hotel Royal Damgrate and then thrown into the swimming pool to stage a drowning.
The autopsy report, first published by SaharaReporters, indicated that the late Air Force Cadet officer died from "intracranial hematoma and skull fracture at the occipital and right parietal region."
Chidiebere’s father believes his son's death was orchestrated by Cadet Officer Valentine Ucheji Obeji, his son's colleague and supposed friend, along with Valentine’s brother, Police Officer Eric Obeji.
Speaking with SaharaReporters about the update, the deceased's father, Mr. Ephraim Onyeomereneche, expressed that it seemed everyone, including the state government, had abandoned them.
"You go to the police, they will tell you that the matter is beyond them. We wrote to the Abia State Government last year and up till now, there is nothing. The last time, they asked us to bring the autopsy result and we have submitted it to the government since it came out.
"From all indications there are a lot of conspiracy in the murder of my son but if the authorities refuse to act in good conscience and do the needful, God is always there. Vengeance is of the Lord.
"It is obvious now that contrary to the initial report of the police that Chidiebere drowned in a swimming pool at Hotel Royal Damgrate in Abia State on April 9, 2024, it was a false narrative to cover up the crime. From the autopsy result, I know my son was murdered," he lamented.
"I have spoken out for the world to hear me and my plight. What happened to the governor of the state? Is it that it never happened? I have tried reaching the government several times, protocol after protocol," he added.
Meanwhile, the letter addressed to Governor Alex Otti dated October 9, 2024, obtained by SaharaReporters obtained, is titled: ‘Murder Of Air Force Cadet Officer Emmanuel Chidiebere Onyeomereneche At Hotel Royale Damgrate Umuahia, Abia State On April 9, 2024.’
The letter partly reads: "We write to inform your Excellency, the Executive Governor of Abia state of the murder of one of the rising sons of the state, from Okwuta Isieke Ibeku in Umuahia North LGA, CDT EC Onyeomereneche (13257) a final-year student of Nigeria Defense Academy, Kaduna, who visited Umuahia for Easter holidays on 28th March 2024, but murdered at Hotel Royal Damgrate, Factory Road, Umuahia on the evening of Tuesday, 9th April 2024.
"Sir, till date, the appropriate authorities have failed to conduct proper investigations as to unravel the reason for the gruesome murder, and the perpetrators of the dastardly act, with a view of bringing them to justice.
"Your Excellency Sir, we the family of the deceased are battered and shattered and demand justice for him, at least to bring closure to our wailing souls. “Our hearts are bleeding. The cadet officer, an only son lost the mother while he was six, and have remained disciplined and responsible ever since, until he was murdered in cold blood and thrown into the pool which created the initial false narrative of drowning, before the autopsy report examination confirmed otherwise.
"It is unfortunate beyond contemplation that this innocent Cadet Officer died not in any battle, operations, nor training, but in his own country home, Umuahia town on holidays.
"We have attached the autopsy report on the deceased carried out at FMC, Umuahia for your attention and necessary directives for justice to be served accordingly.
“Even the prime suspect, CDT Valentine Ucheji Obaji (13296), his classmate, who came to my house to lure and carry him to be killed in disguise of going for a swimming, has been left to continue his education at the Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna.
"Your Excellency Sir, this is your son, and we know that you don't condone evil. We ask that you use your good office to facilitate and ascertain who dimmed our light? The light of the family, the state and the nation at large. Who knows who the next person would be?"
Meanwhile, when SaharaReporters contacted the Abia State Police spokesperson, ASP Maureen Chinaka, regarding the development, she said: "We have a new administration now. I will find out the level of the case and get back to you."
Unfortunately, as at the time of filing this report, she had yet get back.
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