The suspects, Ekene Nwankwo from Okposi in Ebonyi State, Emeka Igwe from Awka Etiti, and Chidi Agu from Enugu State, according to a statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Ebere Amaraizu, had abducted one Ekene Okonkwo sometime last month and later killed the victim after receiving the ransom.
Amaraizu said the suspects kidnapped the late Okonkwo Affa in Udi Local Government Area of the state on November 21 while returning from a traditional marriage in his vehicle.
The statement said:
“They took him (the victim), to a nearby bush by old Nsukka Abor road 9th Mile Corner, Enugu, where they tied his hands and legs with rope and demanded for the sum of N10 naira ransom from his relations.
They also denied him food and water for seven days after beating him while in captivity.”
It was further gathered that when the abductors noticed that they had murdered their victim, they abandoned his corpse in the bush and fled to unknown destinations.
The police, according to the PPRO, through painstaking investigations, smoked the suspects out from their hideouts in 9th Mile and Lagos, during which some of the suspects were severally injured in a shoot out that ensued.
The ring leader of the kidnap syndicate, Nwankwo, has already confessed to the crime, saying it was their quest to make quick money that led them into the crime.
He gave a vivid description on how they abducted the now late Okonkwo:
“When Ebuka communicated that the victim was approaching, we blocked the road and picked him up with our gun to the bush. We then made a call to his family demanding for N10 million but unfortunately, he died few days later. Yes, we tied him up and beat him to avoid him attacking us. I regret his death. We did not intend to kill him."
The PPRO says the suspects would soon be charged to court.
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