The family of Mr. Uchenna Ogbonna of Nkerefi in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State has raised an alarm over his tragic and mysterious death, demanding justice after he was allegedly burnt to death at his employer’s residence in GRA, Enugu.
The late Uchenna had reportedly lived in the residence of his employer, Mr. Uche Adibe, for over seven years, working as a security guard for the compound.
Tensions reportedly arose between him and his boss in the period leading up to his death.
According to the deceased’s sister, Uchenna had made a distress call to her shortly before he died, warning that his life was in danger.
He allegedly claimed that his employer would not allow him to leave freely, reportedly due to fears that he might disclose certain sensitive information he had come to know.
In a series of voice notes made available to SaharaReporters, she said, “That video is where my brother was burnt to death.
“I decided to bring out the video and let the people of Nkerefi and the world see it because we don’t know how or what else to do. We don’t have money for the case.
“But even though we don’t have money, what I’m begging Nigerians for is to get justice for my brother. We know that he was killed by someone, and we are seeking justice for him.”
She added that the deceased had told her about ongoing problems with his employer shortly before his tragic death.
She said, “We had gone with him to the man’s house and had discussions with him. He (the employer) said some things, and that my brother did some things.
“But the day the incident happened, my brother called me on the phone and said he had a little misunderstanding with his boss.
“I asked him what he wanted me to do for him, and he said he wanted us to arrange where his wife and children would stay. I told him I would get a place where they would stay while he would return to the village and stay for a while.
“He asked me to help him with some money, and I sent him N20,000 that day. Around 8 pm that same day, I received a call that my brother had burnt himself to death. I’m dumbfounded.”
According to the sister, Uchenna’s employer, Mr. Adibe, later explained that the dispute arose over accommodation arrangements in the compound following the hiring of a cook.
She said Adibe claimed to have resolved the matter by providing Uchenna with money to rent an apartment outside the residence.
She said, “Uchenna was a security guard for the man. He used to guard the man’s house, and the man travels and sometimes stays away for eight months or more. The man is from the Igbo-speaking part of the Delta, but he lives in GRA Enugu.
“According to his boss, the cause of the misunderstanding is that there is a house he (the employer) said he would build for Uchenna in his compound. He built a self-contained apartment upstairs and another one on the ground floor.
“He asked Uchenna to stay in the house, and when he got a cook, he said that the cook should stay in the one upstairs while Uchenna should stay in the one on the ground floor.
“But Uchenna said that he was not on good terms with the cook. But when the man insisted that Uchenna must stay in the room on the ground floor, Uchenna told him that he could not stay there with the cook.”
Uchenna’s family said that the deceased insisted that instead of staying there with the cook, he would go and rent an apartment elsewhere.
“That even if he won’t work for the man again, let them part ways in peace,” she said.
The sister said that Uchenna had secured a new house and was to move in on Sunday, August 17, 2025, before his tragic death on Thursday.
“The next story now is that Uchenna burnt himself to death,” the family lamented, recalling his earlier misunderstanding with his boss.
She further dismissed suggestions that her brother committed suicide.
She said, “They know the kind of secret Uchenna had on them, which is why they did what they did to him. Because there is no way someone would be happy that he got a house where he would live and then come back and burn himself to death.
“That is a cock and bull story. Secondly, in the video, other cars were in good condition; how is it that it is the car that is in bad condition that Uchenna would decide to set on fire?
“And from his dead body, it shows that he was chained to where he was lying.”
She also accused police officers of tampering with evidence, alleging that video recordings her brother made during the recovery of the deceased’s body were forcibly deleted by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) invited to the scene by Adibe himself.
She said, “My brother was videoing the scene of the incident, and the DPO who came there ordered him to delete the videos.”
“The DPO collected his phone and deleted the videos. Luckily, he didn’t delete all of them. This video is our only evidence because they have refused to show us the CCTV footage of the compound,” she said.
The bereaved family lamented that Uchenna, who had been the breadwinner, was silenced under suspicious circumstances.
Uchenna’s sister further said, “The day we met with the man, we told him that we don’t want any case. When we went to the police, we also said the same thing.
“The affidavit we were asked to bring, we had not brought it because if we had gotten the affidavit, the case would have closed.
“Uchenna was our breadwinner; now he has been burnt to death. Please, Nigerians, help us. We know he is dead already and cannot come back to life, but we want justice.
“We no longer sleep. Help me get justice for my brother. All I want is justice, to find the person who killed my brother. Nothing more.
“The man complained that Uchenna doesn’t sweep the compound. Meanwhile, Uchenna has stayed with him for over seven years, and it is only when he is dead that he is making complaints.
“He said that Uchenna did not tell him that he has siblings and that his father is still alive. Only the man knows the conditions he gave Uchenna that made him not allow his siblings and family members to come close to him while he was working for him.”
Also, angered by Uchenna’s death, the people of the Nkerefi community have vowed to pursue justice both legally and spiritually for the deceased.
SaharaReporters gathered that community leaders and elders emphasised that they would not rest until the truth is uncovered, describing the circumstances surrounding Uchenna’s death as “an affront to human dignity and a deliberate attempt to cover up a heinous crime.”
The youths of the community have also joined in demanding justice, calling on the Governor of Enugu State, the State Commissioner of Police, and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately open an independent and transparent investigation into the matter.
They further warned that failure to act swiftly could result in heightened tension and unrest within the community.
SaharaReporters contacted the Enugu State Police Command for reaction and comments on the incident.
However, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, after reviewing the WhatsApp messages sent to him, neither confirmed nor denied any knowledge of the incident and had not provided any details at the time of this report.
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