A legal practitioner, Mr. Festus
Keyamo has accused the Delta State Police Command of conniving with kidnappers
and attempting to cover up their crime.
Keyamo, who urged the Inspector
General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, to carry out a thorough
investigation into the kidnap of a housewife, believed that N5million ransom
paid by his client, Prince Ovwighodua Odebala for his wife’s release, went into
the pockets of some policemen. According to him, the kidnapper had earlier
demanded for N40million ransom.
Keyamo explained that his client’s
wife was abducted a few days after a policeman, Ntafiong, attached to Sapele
Police Station, allegedly demanded N1million from Prince.
Keyamo said: “This particular
officer is notorious in that Division for demanding monies from prominent
people in the area with threats. The officer forwarded the wife’s account
number using phone number 08035090466. The account details are: Ann Onokurhefe,
0047238018, GTBank.”
Prince allegedly didn’t understand
why he should part with a whooping amount, thus refused.
Keyamo said: “The police officer
told him clearly that if anything happened to him or members of his family in
Sapele, he would be on his own. Three days later, Prince Odebala’s wife was
kidnapped.”
The victim was released after almost 10 days in the kidnappers’ den.
The lawyer further said: “Whilst in
the kidnappers’ den, the kidnappers informed our client’s wife that her husband
has so much money that he even bought phones for his girlfriends. They
mentioned the dates of the purchases. Incidentally, these are facts known only
to one Joel, a close confidant of Prince Odebala.”
Keyamo noted that when Prince
reported the issue of the kidnaping of his wife to the DPO of Sapele Police
Division, the officer took him to the Commissioner of Police, Delta State. The Commissioner
of Police called Ntafiong and simply asked him to release Prince’s wife.
Keyamo noted: “Our client was amazed
that even the Commissioner of Police knew the involvement of this police officer
in this crime but could treat such a serious matter with kid’s glove. Ntafiong
was detained shortly and thereafter released.”
When Prince’s wife was released, he
reported the matter to the Police and one Mr. Vincent, a police officer, in the
IGP IRT Unit, Abuja was assigned to track down the kidnappers.
Vincent tracked the kidnappers and
arrested two persons. One of them was the alleged Prince’s confidante.
The lawyer alleged that the suspects
“were surreptitiously released with connivance of the police officers.”
He insisted: “The lives of client
and that of his wife are now in danger as her captors are now roaming free
again with the connivance of the police. We request that a fresh investigation
be ordered into this incident directly from your office to forestall any
cover-up.”
The Delta State Commissioner of
Police, Mr Zanna Ibrahim, said he was shocked at the allegation leveled against
in any police under his watch.
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