Five in custody over Abuja celebrity chef’s murder

No fewer than five persons have been arrested in connection with the murder of the Abuja celebrity chef and Director of Helenes Food Company, Emeka Eloagu.

Our correspondent gathered from sources that the suspects had been transferred to the Homicide Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department.

The celebrity chef was said to have been found dead in his apartment in Katampe extension, Abuja, on Sunday.

A friend of the deceased said on Tuesday that the killers must have been close to the chef.

The friend, who gave his name simply as Ken, said it was impossible for the assailants to gain access to Eloagu’s apartment without being cleared by security men.

He also refuted reports that the assailants were masked, adding that the security men would not have allowed them in.

Ken said, “He (Eloagu) just returned to Nigeria from Dubai two weeks ago. We spoke extensively and he told me about some of his plans. It is so sad that this happened to him.

“He was gruesomely murdered on Sunday evening at his house in Katampe extension. His wife had gone for a church programme. Two men visited him in his apartment. I want to believe that he knew them.

“Also, you can’t just gain access to his apartment if the security men did not clear you. The security men must have called to inform him of the men’s presence and a pass would have been given to them. They did what they came to do and left.

“By the time his wife returned, she saw him lying on the floor. He was first rushed to the hospital, where the medical personnel did all they could to bring him back to life, but he did not make it.

“The report that his killers came wearing masks is not true. There was no way they could have done that and gained entry into his apartment. Those guys knew him and he must have been expecting them.”

When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Mariam Yusuff, simply said, “We are investigating.”