I needed money to build house for my mother, says

alleged kidnapper who abducted mother of eight on her way to vigil

A suspected cultist and kidnapper, Gift Attah 26, aka Okwulogu, arrested for kidnapping a mother of eight on her way to vigil, has revealed why he rejected N5million ransom, preferring to take N1.5m.

Attah, who was arrested by detectives attached to the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Team (IRT), in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, also talked about his political connections, why he abducted his latest victim and why he cheated his partners in crime.

The IRT operatives, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Abba Kyari, started tracking the Attah and his gang members after they abducted Mrs Blessing Kime at Rumuekini community, Obia-Akpor Local Government Area as she was going for a vigil.

She was with her children in the car, when the gunmen blocked her car with a motorbike and started shooting like they were in a Wild West Hollywood movie.

It was after the arrest of the suspects, that detectives discovered that the gang was also involved in cult related activities in the state.

A police source said: “On June 27, police detectives arrested the leader of the gang, Attah at Rumuakunde Community in Emohua. Attah is the unit head of Iceland confraternity in Rumuakunde. He has confessed to kidnapping Mrs Blessing Kime. Police recovered the victim’s phone and N450, 000, which was his share of the ransom.”

Recollecting her abduction, Kime, a mother of eight, said that on June 6, she was going for a night vigil in her church,  Divine Grace St Jude, with her family inside her Nissan Pathfinder car, when three armed men, on motorbike, blocked her.

She recalled: “ They ordered everybody to come  out of the vehicle, while one of them took over my steering. One of them stayed with me at the backseat of the car and blindfolded me.  They speed off and picked another member of their gang along the road. I knew they took me across a river with canoe, but I didn’t know the particular river. They took me to an uncompleted building in a village. All the men were armed and they spoke Ikwere language. I was kept in the uncompleted building from Tuesday till Sunday morning, and then relocated to the bush.

“ I was not beaten; I was not raped. I was fed with beans. They collected my phone and held me hostage for nine days before releasing me. I don’t actually know how much ransom that was paid, but when I was finally released, my brother Isoboye told me that he paid N1.5 million to the kidnappers before I was released. I’m strongly suspecting my former driver, Israel Godswill was behind my abduction. I suspected my driver because while I was in the bush, the gunmen showed a text message on my phone. It was sent by Godswill. The text message stated that I should forgive him.

“I was released on June 16, 1:30am. Four of my abductors escorted me through a road and untied me. On getting to Kalaban-Ogbakini road, they turned back. I saw a mortuary by the road; there was a security man there. I begged him to allow me stay there till morning. I was with him until 6.am. He gave me N500 for my transportation. I got home around 7.am. A woman was kidnapped and kept in the same bush; she was also blindfolded before I was taken to the bush. I know that the kidnappers shot that woman on June 15.  I heard a gunshot, and I heard the woman crying and begging them until I could no longer hear her voice. I cannot remember how many of them guarded me in the bush, but they were many. There was no tent or house in the bush were I was kept, but the rain that  fell throughout that period, fell on me. I cannot recognise any of my abductors, but I know all of them were speaking Ikwere Language.”

Attah, who said that his father was late actor Attah, dropped out of secondary school after the death of his father in 2004. According to him, he is a strong member of Iceland cult group. He was initiated in 2010.

He said: “On June 6,  three of us, Stephen Ogbuka, Hope Aye and me were on motorbike from Rumuekini when we saw a  jeep being driven by a woman with some children. There were also other adults in the car. I now told my friends that we should kidnap the woman because I needed money to build a house for my mother. It was  easy  for us because we were patrolling with Ak47 rifle along Rumuekini road, looking for whom to kidnap. We blocked the woman when she was about to enter the church gate.  I fired gunshots into the air to scare people. Ogbuka also fired gunshots.  I came down with the AK47 rifle and asked the woman to come out of the vehicle and go to the backseat. I told other occupants to come down. We immediately took over the car.”

He continued: “ I parked the jeep at SDA road and handed the woman to Stephen and others. The next day, Stephen told me that they had moved the woman to Rumuakunde community. I handed over the AK47 rifle to Stephen before leaving that night. That was how we kidnapped and took her to my late uncle’s house at Rumuakwunde. We kept her from Tuesday till Sunday, before we moved her to the bush. Though I was not with them in the bush, I know that nobody was shot. No woman was held captive in that bush, except the Kime woman that we kidnapped. I was the one that showed her the text message her driver Godswill sent to her while I was looking for a number to call on her phone. I don’t even know her driver. He is not the person that gave me information about her. The native doctor cut our bodies with blade. He gave us charms to wear round our waist whenever we were going for any kidnapping operation.

“I visited them in the forest four times before we collected the ransom.  I did the negotiation for the ransom. When I visited the woman in the forest, she promised to pay us N5 million. I told her that it was too much. I wasn’t looking for that kind of money. When I talked to the woman’s husband, he cooperated.

“We agreed to N1.5 million. I went to collect the money at Rumuekini in the night. After I collected and counted it, it was N1.450m. I hid  N450,000,  before taking N1million to the camp. After we shared the N1million, I got N70,000. I was given N50,000 to give to the native doctor. I removed N20,000 from it, and gave the man N30,000. I’m not sure if my men raped the woman, but we don’t do such. I have been working with Honourable Uchendu since 2014. We used to escort him for campaigns during elections. I followed him  wherever he goes. On June 12, I called Honourable to find out what was happening between Amaechi and Magu, Honourable said we couldn’t talk on phone. He said that he would call me to come to Port Harcourt.  On June 17,  Honourable called me to come to his house. He said that he wanted to go to my community for a chieftaincy ceremony at Rumuakunde. I got to his house in the morning before we moved out to Lasmall at Rumuakalogbor. I was waiting for him at Lasmill in his official car when police came to arrest me.”

Other members of the gang are Steven Ogbuka 25, who confessed to being a member of the Icelander cult group and participated in the abduction of Kime.  

According to Ogbuka, he was in charge of the stronghold where Kime was held hostage. He was also responsible for procurement of rifles for the gang. He admitted renting the rifles from a Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Rumuekini Community.  Another suspect is Chimele Chinda, 26, alias Aeroplane, a University of Port Harcourt final year student.

Daddy Stephen 33, alias Marshall, confessed to  being the coordinator of all Iceland cult activities in Emuoha. Atayero Abiodun 48,  from Osun State, residing in Rumuekini Community,  said that he prepared charms for repelling bullets for the gang members, but denied knowing that the men were kidnappers or cult members.

Chinda, narrating his story, said that he is a student at University of Port Harcourt, 400 Level, studying Political Science. He explained that he met Ogbuka in 2014.

He recounted: “ I didn’t know Ogbuka is a cultist or  kidnapper. Ogbuka brought one Ak47 rifle, concealed in a bag and asked me to keep it for him until further notice. The following day, being June 10, Ogbuka came to collect it from me.”

Chinda admitted going with Ogbuka and others to abduct Kime. According to him, he got to know Attah, through Ogbuka in 2016.

Chinda said: “Attah told me that he is a boy to Honourable Uchendu. In June 2017, I begged Attah to give me some money for my school project, but he told me to wait. He said he was expecting money from his boss in the second week of June.  I exchanged my Nokia Touch phone  with Attah’s. I collected Attah’s Nokia Touch Phone, which had two SIM cards. I didn’t know that Attah was using my phone to negotiate for ransom, from the family of the woman that was kidnapped Attah is good to me, but I didn’t know he was a kidnapper and cultist.”

Abiodun, who is a driver and also a native doctor, said he is title holder, ‘Oluwo.’ He is a member of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC).

He said: “I used to prepare charm for people against bullet penetration. I used to deliver women of their babies when there is difficulty for them to deliver. I have prepared charm against bullets for several members of OPC in different communities in Rivers State.

“I have known Attah for over two years now. Three weeks ago, I me Attah along Rumuekini Town’s Hall while I was returning from my driving job. He stopped and told me that he wanted to discuss something with me, but not on the road. I gave him my phone number to call me whenever he was ready to see me. He called me two days later; I directed him to my house. He came with one of his friends. Attah told me to prepare charm for him and his friend against dangerous weapons. He said the community was becoming dangerous.

“There had been a recent killing and beheading of one boy. We negotiated, and I told him to pay me N150,000. But after much haggling, we agreed on N100,000. I was given N50,000 by Attah and his friend that day. I told them to return in three days’ time. Attah later came with four other persons to collect the charm after the expiration of the days. After about six days interval, he came again with two other persons. He gave me N30,000, to balance N20,000.

“There was no time Attah told me that they were kidnappers. I didn’t know they were going for kidnapping job before coming to me to prepare charms for them against bullets.”

Mr Isoboye Braidey, brother to Kime, said that after the abduction of his sister, his mind raced everywhere, trying to think of who could have kidnapped Kime.

He thought of the former driver, Mr Godswill Israel, whom Kime sacked three days before her abduction.

Braidey said: “ I tried Israel’s phone, but it was switched off.  I had his neighbour’s line and called the man, he told me that for two days, Israel had not come home. Later, around 12.15pm, the neighbour called me. He said Israel was home. I went with police to arrest him.  Immediately police arrested Israel, the kidnappers called me and started negotiation. They asked for N30million. They later brought the money down to N1.5million. I spoke with my sister on June 15, before I went to drop the money at Rumuekeni road at VIP Hostel Street, around 11pm.”

Ogbuka said he is a strong member of Iceland secret cult. He was initiated by late Lucky Ikejie in 2006 at Mgbitor Emouha. The cult national leader is one Manda from Ogbakini.

He further said: “Our Iceland secret cult unit head Rumuakunde is Attah. On June 6, we used a motorbike to block the woman’s car. We were armed with AK47 rifles and two magazines. It was Ada Wordu that rode the motorbike and Attah  held the rifle. She was about to enter Akas Street when we blocked and kidnapped her. It was Attah that drove the woman’s jeep, but I was the person that sat with her at the backseat. When we got to  Chiba River, Attah abandoned the jeep and took the woman across the river in a canoe. The canoe was paddled by Chimenu Ameme to Mgbatanwo bush. We crossed from Mgbatanwo forest to Rumuakande forest around 12.am. I, Destiny, Ada Wordu, Chibuka, and Chimenu crossed the woman to Rumuakunde Forest. We met Hope and Chimendun alias Marshal already there, waiting for us in the bush. We kept the woman in the bush for eight days before releasing her. Ada wordu is the person that used to buy food and bring to us in the bush. It was Attah and Marshal that negotiated with the woman’s husband. We used the woman’s SIM card to make the calls. It was Attah that went to collect the ransom. He also brought N1million to us in the bush. I don’t know how Attah shared the money, but he gave me N50,000. We used only one AK47 rifle, with double magazine. The AK47 rifle we used in the kidnapping was given to me by one Daniel alias Ichaka. Daniel is a boy to a CSO Rumuekini Nnanta. Daniel gave me the AK47 about three weeks ago in the night at Rumuekini bush. I collected the gun from Daniel, I took it to Chimene Chinda alias aeroplane to keep for me in his house at  Rumuekini. I kept the gun with Chimene Chinda for about two days before I went and  collected it back. I took the gun to the bush until the day we kidnaped the woman. It was Attah that introduced me into kidnapping. This is my first kidnapping ; but sometimes in 2015, Attah approached me to join in kidnapping of one Dr Oluwene mother in Rumuakunde, but I refused . After kidnapping the woman, the entire Rumuakunde youth came out to look for Attah and his group, but they abandoned the woman and escaped into the bush when the pressure became too much on them.”