Remains of retired Benue Judge discovered days after she was murdered

The remains of a retired Judge in Benue State, Retired Justice Margaret Igbeta has been found in her private residence in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Justice Igbeta was once President of the Benue State Customary Court of Appeal.

She was reportedly killed days before her corpse were discovered leaving no traces of her assailants.

According to reports, the remains of the retired jurist was already in a bad state when it was discovered Thursday evening in a pool of blood in her home located at No. 1, Wantor Kwange Street, Opposite College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, BSU, Makurdi.

A Police operative who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity suspected that the retired Jurist must have been murdered by yet-to-be-identified persons, noting that the state of her remains indicated that she must have been killed days before her corpse was discovered on Thursday.

The source disclosed that the police were alerted of the development by the young son of the deceased and they wasted no time in visiting the scene and also ensured the evacuation of the lifeless body of the jurist.

He said: “Yes, Justice Igbeta has been murdered. Yesterday, Thursday, August 24, 2023, her lifeless body was discovered in her house but the corpse was not looking too okay again.

“What that meant was that it couldn’t have happened that yesterday, Thursday, maybe a day or so before it was discovered and reported to the police.”

The source also assured that the police were already investigating the matter to bring the culprits to book.

Retired Justice Margaret Igbeta, 73, before her demise, was said to be living a private life and was hardly seen in public since she retired on October 17, 2015.

She is acclaimed to be the first female lawyer of Benue origin.

However, the jurist had been reportedly involved some finalcial crimes which landed her in the dick severally.

In 2019, Retired Justice Igbeta was enmeshed in an alleged N800 million proxy bank account controversy.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, had in September of that year dragged her before an Abuja High Court over a proxy bank account she allegedly operated in the name of her housemaid which had a fix deposit of over N800 million.

The anti-graft agency sought an interim injunction of the court for the forfeiture of the said fund which it claimed was obtained through fraudulent activities in the course of doing her job.

Her assailants who are yet-to-be identified, would be charged and convicted for culpable homicide if the Police’ investigation yields positive results leading to their arrest.

According to the law, Section 39 of the Criminal Code Act in Nigeria, the assailants if found guilty, will be sentenced to death except if otherwise appealed by a law court and granted commensurate punishment for recompense.

Following, following a disclosure of the inciden, efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer in Benue State, Superintendent, SP, Catherine Anene for further details proved quite abortive as said she was yet to receive full details of the incident.

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