The
Police, yesterday, paraded suspected killers of a Lagos businessman,
Mr. Odidi Nweze with the kingpin of the gang giving chilling details on
why they killed their victim.
Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Manko, who paraded the suspects told
anxious journalists that the eight suspects, including a woman, were
behind series of kidnap incidents both in Lagos and the neighbouring
states.
He said the suspects who used an uncompleted building located
somewhere in Okota, Lagos, as their hideout were in the habit of
trailing their victim(s) to an obscure place, abduct, blindfold and
drive them to their hideout in Okota from where they demand for ransom.
The police boss who linked the kidnapers to the abduction and murder
of Odidi Nweze, however, absolved the Oxpharm Specialties Ltd, Satellite
Town, the pharmaceutical store where it was reported that the deceased
was kidnapped before his subsequent murder.
A visibly elated Manko tongue-lashed critics of the command saying,
“Those who are in the habit of criticizing the police can now see that
we are not sleeping. We are not saying don’t criticise, but it should be
objective. It is my determination that we will never rest on our oars
until peace returns to the state.”
He added: “I am happy to announce to you that we have been able to
smash a syndicate of kidnappers who have been linked to series of kidnap
incidents in the state. They are about eight of them including a woman.
The ring leader has been arrested and he gave his name as Kelvin
Emenike 31, who lives in Port Harcourt.
“He normally comes to Lagos for his ‘business transaction’ after
which he travels back to Port Harcourt; but we have been able to track
him back to Lagos for the same ‘business proposal’ and that ‘business
proposal’ is what you are now seeing. This group also includes a woman
who manages their ransom and she is also responsible for disbursing the
funds to the gang members.
“In possession of these hoodlums were one AK 49 assault riffle with
78 7.6mm ammunition, five magazines, one Toyota pick-up van, one Toyota
Matrix vehicle and one Boxer motor cycle. With these, they abduct their
victims, blind fold them and take them to their hideout, an uncompleted
building somewhere in Okota; and when they finish with their victims,
they pack them in their respective hideouts.
Unfortunately or fortunately too, we have a case of murder of a
clearing agent sometime last month. The man according to information
available to us, was kidnapped but he tried to fight back and he was
fatally shot and he died. These suspects have also confessed to us that
they were the one who perpetrated the crime.
Manko added: “Again, let me get one thing cleared: the victim, Odid
Nweze, according to our investigation may have been going to buy some
drugs incidentally at the branch of a pharmacy where killers of Cynthia
Osokogu bought their drugs when he was kidnapped. The owner of the
medicine store may not have knowledge of such dastardly act, it was just
coincidental that some criminals were out to perpetrate their act.”
Giving details on why they killed Odidi Nweze, kingpin of the gang,
Klevin Emenike said, the death of their victim was purely in self
defence. He said: “Actually we did not mean to kill him, all we were
doing was to make money. Although the parents later paid N1.2m out of
the money we demanded, but we killed him even before they paid the
money. What happened was that when he was kidnapped at Satellite, as we
were going to Okota he attempted to disarm one of us so I grabbed the
gun and fired him pointblank. He later bled to death because we could
not take him to the hospital.”
In another development, operatives of the Marine Police attached to
Badagry division in Lagos, have arrested two suspected sea pirates who
specialized in attacking oil vessels on the nation’s water and selling
the product in Benin Republic.
Recovered from the suspects’ hideout in Padi-beach around Topo area
of Badagry were their weapons which included two AK 47 riffles, four AK
47 magazines with fifty seven rounds of live ammunition; four pump
action guns with one hundred and four rounds of live cartridges, two
single barrel guns, charms and amulets. Also recovered were men’s
underwear, two knives, a Ventolin inhaler, one Nokia handset and a visa
phone which were all buried in the sand.
The suspects, Momanyon Fiapanu and Nunayon Yanagbon, both Ghanians,
according to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Umar Manko,
“specialised in hijacking diesel and other petroleum products in the
waterways of Nigeria, Benin Republic and Ghana.”
However, the suspects who claimed to be fishermen and have their
abode at the beach, denied police claim, saying they recovered weapons
belonging to one Setty, believed to be leader of the sea robbers.
However, during further interrogation, it was discovered that the said
Setty who is on the run is a cousin to one of the suspects
23-year-old Mumanyon who was paraded alongside other suspects,
yesterday, said his cousin and other unidentified persons from the
Niger Delta region were perpetrators of the attacks on oil tanks on the
sea. He further stated that at the end of an operation,the group would
bury the weapons inside the sand pending when they would be going for
another operation.
Also paraded, was one Samuel Johnson who had been parading himself as
a soldier with the Nigerian Army. Recovered from him were three police
walkie -talkie radios, ten pairs of military uniform, four pairs of
boots and six military belts.
TalkOfNaija
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