Why we killed Justice Margaret Igbetar – Suspect

The killers of retired President of the Customary Court of Appeal in Makurdi, Benue State, Justice Margaret Igbetar, have confessed to murdering her over an alleged withholding of their family’s land.

On August 24, 2023, a group of armed individuals raided the retired judge’s residence on Wantor Kwange Street, across from the School of Medicine at Benue State University in Makurdi, and brutally killed her. Her decomposed remains were discovered by a relative a few days later.

During a recent presentation of four suspected murderers of the retired judge, the state Commissioner of Police, Batholomew Onyeka, revealed that the deceased’s nephew, Aondohemba Joseph, orchestrated the attack on the retired judge’s residence, resulting in her death.

The suspects apprehended and presented included the late judge’s driver, a security personnel, and another relative. The suspected ringleader, Joseph, explained to journalists during the presentation that the deceased was in possession of his father’s land documents. He stated, “She (the late judge) was my aunt and she had the documents of my father’s landed property and when we asked her, she was not forthcoming about it.”

Joseph further detailed that he did not directly stab her but had Dzungwenen Ukor carry out the act. Ukor confirmed his involvement and stated that Joseph instructed him to stab the deceased as she had allegedly refused to release the documents related to his father’s property.

Another suspect, Akuhwa Barnabas, 32, who had been employed as a driver for the deceased two months prior to the incident, explained that he was instructed to guard the gate. Barnabas said, “I was recruited as a driver to the deceased two months before the incident and truly, they contacted me that when they get the documents and sell the property, they would settle me.”

He continued, “So, I was told to be at the gate and not allow anyone to enter, and the moment they finished, they left, and I also ran away to avoid arrest.”

Commissioner Onyeka, in his address to journalists, stated, “The suspect (nephew) who eventually confessed to have planned and recruited other people to help him in killing his aunty led a team of detectives to Adikpo, the Kwande Local Government Area where the following suspects were arrested: Igbazenda Gbidye, 63, and Dzungwenen Ukor, 40.”

“These suspects admitted that Aondohemba Joseph had reported to them that his father died and left so much property in the hands of his aunty (the deceased) and she has refused to hand the said property over to him. They agreed to join him in eliminating her so that he could have access to his property.”

“Akuhwa Barnabas, 32, a driver to the deceased who was also arrested, corroborated their statements by admitting that he was the one who allowed the gang access to the house and manned the gate until they finished.”