‘Kidnappers killed my undergraduate brother after N1.2m ransom’

Ikenna

A broken hearted Mr. Peter Osuji has revealed how two men abducted his younger brother, Ikenna Samuel Osuji and killed him even after the family ran from pillar to post to raise and pay N1.2million ransom.

The deceased, Ikenna, 27, a 100-Level student of Civil Engineering, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, was said to have been killed by his abductors, while attempting to escape.

Chinedu

Peter said that his late brother, although an undergraduate, has a Nissan Premerra car, which he used in transportation business.

According to Peter, Ikenna uses money made from his transportation business, to sponsor himself in the university. It was this Premerra car that led to his abduction.

One of the suspected kidnappers of Ikenna, Chinedu Azuazu, 30, said that when he and his partner, Joshua, noticed that Ikenna was always bringing rich looking people in his car to their community to buy lands, they thought he was from a rich family. They decided to abduct him.

After kidnapping him, they called Peter and demanded for N5m ransom. The kidnappers promised to release Ikenna immediately Peter pays the ransom.

After much pleading, they asked Peter to bring what he had. He brought N1.2m and dropped it at a designated venue.

After days of waiting for the kidnappers to call him, to come and pick Ikenna, all to no avail, Peter became worried. He would later learn that his Ikenna had been killed.

Chinedu was arrested by operatives attached to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris’s Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT) on September, 12, 2016.

Today, Chinedu said he has become a born again Christian. He stressed that he had even begged God for forgiveness. He has also asked the family of Ikenna for forgiveness.

He said: “I want you to know that I have repented before my arrest.  In July 2016, I went to a pastor and confessed what I did. He prayed and told me never to go back to my old ways. He said if I go back, I would die. I obeyed. Ever since then, I have lived a decent life. Even when I met Ikenna’s brother, I asked for his forgiveness. He didn’t say anything. I don’t know if he could find a place in his heart to forgive me.”

The police said: “Chinedu Azuazu of No.22 Obor Road, Omouku, was arrested in connection with the kidnap and murder of Ikenna, an undergraduate. The suspect has confessed to the crime. He stated that while the hostage was in their custody, he tried to escape and was hit with a stick on his neck, which resulted to his death. After they realised he was dead, they took his corpse all the way from Alakahia village and dumped it at Umunkwa Igbodo Etche Community.

“The chief of the community, Mr. Hyacinth Akwukwauegbu, confirmed that a corpse was dumped in his farm. Hyacinth said that elders in the community hurriedly buried the corpse, without informing the police. Chinedu also stated that after the death of Ikenna, they still went ahead to demand money from his family. They collected ransom from the deceased’s brother, Peter. They took the deceased’s car to Imo State and sold it for N180, 000.”

Chinedu, married with one child, a secondary school leaver, described himself as a welder. Chinedu, a security guard, said he went into kidnapping because his salary couldn’t meet his family needs.

His words: “I went into kidnapping when I was working with Ibe, a youth leader from Alakahia Community.   He employed me as a security guard, to watch over a large expanse of land, belonging to Alakahia Community. Whenever money comes in, our boss wouldn’t pay us; rather he would take us to a bar and buy drinks. At the end of the day, he would give us N3000 each to take home to our families. The money was too small for me. When my wife became pregnant, we needed money for antenatal and delivery. I told my boss my predicament, but he refused to help.”

Recalling how the plot to abduct Ikenna was hatched, Chinedu said: “There was this taxi driver, Ikenna, who used to transport people that wanted to buy land from our site. I and my colleague, Joshua, decided to kidnap him.  We thought he was from a rich family because he used to bring rich people to buy land from our site.”  

On May, 25, 2016, Ikenna drove innocently into the site. Chinedu and Joshua bided their time and later cornered Ikenna. They threatened him with a double barrel gun and marched him deep into the forest. There, they kept him hostage.

He said: “We used his phone to call his brother and demanded for N5m ransom. The brother told us that the family didn’t have such an amount of money. He reduced the ransom to N2m. We threatened to kill Ikenna if the family didn’t pay us.”

Chinedu said that Ikenna had already spent 14 days in their custody, when he left him one day in the care of Joshua. 

Chinedu said: “I left him with Joshua. I just dashed out to buy some food. When I returned, I found Ikenna lying motionless on the ground.  I asked Joshua what happened; he said Ikenna attempted to escape. While trying to stop Ikenna from escaping, there was a struggle. He said Ikenna was almost overpowering him when he picked a stick and hit him on his head. Ikenna slumped. 

“I checked his pulse and discovered that he was still alive, but his heartbeat was very weak. There was nothing I could do. A few hours later, I checked him again and realised he was dead.”

Knowing quite well that Ikenna was dead, Chinedu still went on to call Peter, asking him to bring whatever amount he had been able to raise for the ransom.

He said: “I asked Peter how much he had; he said it was N120, 000. I told him to drop it at UPTH Road, where there was a bunch of firewood.  He followed my instruction. I took the money and we went to Rumuola Market to buy a large bed sheet. We wrapped Ikenna’s corpse with it and dumped it into the boot of his car. We drove to an abandoned farm in Umunkwa Igbodo Community, Etche Local Government of Rivers State, and dumped the corpse there.”  

Afterwards, they took the car to Owerri, Imo State and sold it for N180, 000. 

Chinedu said: “I gave Joshua N148, 000 and kept N158, 000 for myself. I paid off debt I incurred when my wife put to bed. I spent the rest of the money on myself and family.  After that operation, I didn’t see Joshua again.  He’s a Yoruba boy; I don’t know the village he came from. We only became friends because he worked at Alakahia as a welder. I found out we were both members of the same confraternity. Joshua must have gone back to his village after the operation. As for me, I travelled to Lagos, in search of a job. I came back this September when I couldn’t get any.”

Chinedu said he wouldn’t have been arrested if not that his former boss, Ibe, set him up.

His words: “A few days before my arrest, I had a nightmare. In the dream, I saw my former boss, Ibe, being killed. When I woke up, I called and told him to be very careful.  He asked me what I was doing; I told him I had no job. He asked me to come and see him at home. I didn’t know he was setting me up.  When I got to his house, the police arrested me. They accused me of killing Ikenna.  I don’t know how they got information that I worked with Ibe.”

Contrary to Chinedu’s confession that the ransom was N120, 000, Peter said it was N1.2m.

Chinedu narrated: “In May 2016, I got a call from one of my in-laws. I was told that they haven’t seen Ikenna for some days. Later, I received another call that day. The caller used Ikenna’s phone to call. The person said that Ikenna was in their custody. They asked me to bring N5m or they would kill him.  I begged and told them that I had no money. I wanted to speak with Ikenna, to confirm he was alive, but they refused to allow me speak with him.”

Peter said that three weeks after the phone call and demand for N5m ransom, he called and told them that he was able to raise N200, 000.  The suspects refused to accept the N200, 000. They threatened to kill Ikenna if Peter didn’t cough up N5m.

Peter recounted: “After a while, I sold some of my property. I raised an addition N1m. I called and told them I have raised N1m, but they insisted on N5m. I was terrified. I went everywhere, trying to borrow and raise the money. I was shocked to receive a call from them a few days later. They asked me how much I had, I lied it was N2m. They instructed me to come down to Port Harcourt with the money.  When I got to Port Harcourt, they said I should take the money to East-West Road. They said that if they see any policeman with me, they would kill Ikenna. When I got to Alakahia Junction, they asked me to drop the money. I did as they instructed. After that, my brother’s phone, which they’ve always used in calling me, stopped going. I couldn’t reach them again.”

Feeling sick with dread, Peter dashed to report the matter at Chuba Police Station. The matter was later transferred to Rivers State Police Command, Anti-Kidnapping Department. 

Peter said that a month after Ikenna’s disappearance, the family started paying visits to churches and prophets; trying to find out if Ikenna was still alive. Many of the men of God told the family Ikenna was still alive.

Peter narrated: “Fortunately, someone linked me to IRT in Port Harcourt. I briefed the operatives what happened and they immediately commenced investigation. They tracked down Ibe, who employed my brother’s killers. It was Ibe who tricked Chinedu into police net. Chinedu later led us to where he dumped my brother’s corpse. We have retrieved the corpse and deposited it in the mortuary. I can’t really understand why they have to cut short the life of a promising young man after collecting N1.2m.  It’s shocking!”