A man in Nigeria’s Abia State is in police custody after allegedly assaulting his father during a long-running property dispute, an attack that relatives say preceded the elderly man’s death.
Uchechukwu Uchegbu was detained following the death of his father, Emmanuel Uchegbu, who died after suffering injuries in an alleged assault, according to family members and police.
A relative, Chinedu Uche, said the dispute began when the suspect allegedly attempted to take over family land for personal use, a move his father opposed. The disagreement, he said, escalated into repeated confrontations over several years.
Uche alleged that the suspect tried to build a house on land that had not been formally divided among family members and later attempted to encroach on his father’s property. He said the suspect repeatedly assaulted his father, damaged his belongings and threatened to seize his house.
According to the family, the final incident occurred on Jan. 1, 2026, when the suspect allegedly attacked his father with a cutlass, leaving him critically injured. The elderly man was taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Umuahia, where he remained hospitalized until he died on Jan. 31.
Uche said the suspect was briefly arrested after the January incident but was released. He was re-arrested after his father’s death.
Abia State police spokesperson Maureen Chinaka confirmed that the suspect is in custody and that an investigation is ongoing.
“There is a case under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department,” Chinaka said. “The suspect has been apprehended and remains in our custody while the investigation continues.”
