TENSION GRIPS ENUGU AS YOUTHS PROTEST ALLEGED POLICE EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLING OF SOCIALITE 'STONE'

Family and demonstrators march to Government House demanding justice after 22-year-old celebrity's body was traced to a hospital mortuary following an overnight raid by the Anti-Cult Tactical Squad

Tension flared across Enugu, the state capital, following widespread demonstrations by hundreds of aggrieved youths protesting the alleged extrajudicial killing of popular socialite Izuchukwu Nnaji, widely known as "Stone," by operatives attached to the Enugu State Police Command’s Anti-Cult Tactical Squad.

According to family members and eyewitness accounts, armed anti-cult operatives raided a hotel room where Nnaji was staying around 3:00 a.m., whisking him away to an unknown location. Relatives searching for his whereabouts subsequently located his body at the ESUT Teaching Hospital, Parklane morgue.

The victim's family strongly rejected suggestions of criminal involvement, maintaining that Nnaji was a well-known local celebrity rather than a cultist or armed robber. Chanting solidarity songs and bearing placards, the protesting youths marched toward the Enugu State Government House to demand an immediate investigation, the prosecution of the involved officers, and systemic reforms within tactical police units operating across the state.

The incident has sparked renewed public outcry in Enugu over allegations of police high-handedness and unprovoked tactical squad raids. Operational authorities at the Enugu State Police Command have yet to issue a formal public response regarding the circumstances surrounding Nnaji's arrest and subsequent death.