The State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) in Port Harcourt has taken 74-year-old Mr. Egesi Lazarus Ifeanyi into custody over the mysterious death of his neighbor, Barrister Anselem, who was found dead in his apartment at No. Circular Road, Iriebe Housing Estate, Rivers State, on December 21, 2025.
Mr. Ifeanyi was detained on Monday, January 5, 2026, following his statement to SCIID after an official invitation regarding the incident.
Speaking to our reporter, Egesi Kelechi Bright, Mr. Ifeanyi’s son, described his father as a close friend of the deceased. He said their apartments were directly opposite each other and recounted the events leading to Barrister Anselem’s death.
According to Bright, on December 14, 2025, Mr. Ifeanyi and Barrister Anselem shared a morning drink outside the lawyer’s apartment.
In the days that followed, attempts to reach Anselem by phone failed. Concerned, Mr. Ifeanyi contacted a neighbor, who in turn alerted the lawyer’s family.
On December 21, members of Barrister Anselem’s family visited his apartment and discovered him dead.
The Estate Chairman and Mr. Ifeanyi reported the matter to the Oyigbo Police Division, after which the case was transferred to SCIID.
Bright said, “When they came, one of them, Barrister Anselem’s sister, went at the back of Barrister Anselem’s house and noticed the back door was open. She did not go in, she came back to call my dad and some of the estate people who came together with them to check.
“They all entered the house.They saw him (Barrister Anselem) lying down dead on the floor of the room. So everybody came out and said they should go and report to the Police.
“They informed the Estate Chairman and all went to Oyigbo Police Division where my Dad and the Estate Chairman wrote statement. After the statement, they released my dad and the Estate Chairman.
“The matter was transferred to State CIID and they invited my father with the Estate Chairman. The Estate Chairman was there last week and left. So my dad came back from the village yesterday (Sunday) because of the invitation.
“After my dad wrote his statement at SCIID, Port Harcourt, he was detained not knowing that Barr Anselem’s sister had been in SCIID and wrote a statement raising many allegations against my dad.”
Mr Bright insisted on his father’s innocence, alleging that statements from Barrister Anselem’s sister implicated his father unfairly.
He however called on the Commissioner of Police to ensure a thorough investigation as he believes his father is innocent, as the 74-year-old Ifeanyi was still in detention as of Tuesday morning January 6, 2026.
“I call on the Commissioner of Police to thoroughly investigate this matter as my Dad is innocent”.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer for the Rivers State Police Command, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, promised to revert after getting an update on the matter, but had yet to do so when this report was filed.
