A former Ebonyi State Commissioner, Donatus Ajah, has been arrested by Policemen for allegedly having hand in the murder of a certain, Azubuike Inya.

The duo are said to be native of Amankwo village, Nkpoghoro community, in the Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

46-year-old Inya was said to have been murdered during an intracommunity crisis between two factions of the village.

It was gathered that the factions constantly clashed over supremacy in the village, and on the day Inya died, Ajah led a certain faction with a certain Ifeanyi Obila.

Another source stated that the suspects that killed Inya attacked some villagers at a drinking spot with machetes, and Inya, who heard the cries of the people that were attacked rushed to the scene to plead that they desist from the attack.

The assailants then turned on him and attacked him with machetes until he died.

The deceased’s brother, however, claimed that his brother was the main target of the killers and that they only attacked those at the joint because he was not seen.

He said:

“When these people came and could not find my elder brother, who I think was their target, they started attacking everyone there. And people were running helter-skelter.

“That was when Azubuike Inya came from inside the village. He pleaded with them not to do such a thing, that it was not good. They attacked him, and they killed him with their machetes.

“It was Zentus’s(Mr Ajah’s is also known as Zentus) boys that killed Azubuike and it was on the 23rd of May, around some minutes past 8pm.”

However, Ajah denied the allegations levied against him with the claims that he was not around when the whole incident occurred.

He insisted that he and the deceased did not have issues that made them cross path and he would not have ordered anyone to kill him when the deceased is not an animal.

He added that he only heard about the incident from witnesses but had no hand in his death.

When quizzed, the Police Spokesman, Loveth Odah, confirmed Ajah’s arrest and explained that investigation is ongoing to know the real cause of Inya’s death and those that are responsible for it.