Juliana Francis
A dismissed policeman, Ogwu Christian (39), who
killed his fiancée’s mother, for allegedly convincing her daughter not to marry
him, has boasted that he would be acquitted if taken to court.
The suspect confessed to have accosted his
mother-in-law to be, Veronica Obiejiogo (45) on the road and shot her at close
range, leaving her dead.
The suspect, who claimed to be a graduate of Marine
Engineering, University of Benin, was also fine tuning his plans to murder his fiancée,
Blessing Obiejiogo, before operatives of the Inspector-General of Police
Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), led by a Deputy Commissioner of
Police, Abba Kyari, swooped on him.
Christian, however, since his arrest, has been
begging operatives of the IRT to take him to court.
He claimed that he would get an acquittal if taken
to court, because most of the magistrates and judges in Nigerian courts
belonged to the same cult as him.
He maintained that it was even because of this cult
members that he had to kill his fiancée’s mom and was also bent on killing his fiancée.
According to him, members of this secret cult knew he was planning to marry the
lady in question and already set to follow him. But the lady disgraced and
played him for a fool.
Christian, from Delta State, ran to Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, after killing Veronica with a locally made pistol in front of one
of her sons at Otolokpo community in Ika North Local Government Area of Delta
State.
Veronica’s devastated family members were said to
have petitioned the IGP, Mohammed Adamu, seeking for justice. Thus Adamu
deployed IRT operatives to hunt down Christian.
It was gathered that Christian, after killing
Veronica, switched off all his phones and went underground.
The operatives started their investigation and the
hunt for Christian right from his village in Afor, in Delta State. They spoke
with many of his relatives and began to profile him. The police later used some
of the information they got from his relatives to locate him.
He was trailed and arrested in the premises of a
commercial bank in Port Harcourt. He was located five months after the hunt for
him started.
While speaking with journalists on how and why he
killed Veronica, Christian didn’t display an iota of remorse over his action.
A police source disclosed: “Rather, he blamed his
actions on Veronica, who he claimed made his fiancée, Blessing, to abort their
three-month-old pregnancy. He also blamed the woman for the cancellation of his
wedding to Blessing, which was supposed to take place on December 27, 2018.”
The suspect, who police described as a local
fraudster, said he became frustrated and angry with Veronica and Blessing and
vowed to kill them. According to him, he strongly felt that they both betrayed
and played him. He also claimed to have spent too much money on Blessing.
The police further said: “Investigation has shown
that Veronica truly discouraged her daughter from going on with the marriage.
This was after she found out that Christian was not a senior police officer as
he claimed and made them to believe. She found out he was a fraudster,
swindling people of their money, while pretending to help them get jobs with
security agencies. Veronica was further incensed when Christian defrauded two
residents of their Otolokpo community. These two victims, approached him as
their prospective in-law and begged him to assist them to secure appointments
with the Federal Road Safety Commission, (FRSC). He collected N25, 000 each from
them, but didn’t deliver on his promise. The incident caused embarrassment for
Veronica’s family.”
Christian enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force in 2000,
but was later dismissed after armed robbers stole a smoke gun that was assigned
to him at a checking point. Before he was sacked, his Force number was 371416.
He trained at Police College, Ikeja, with other policemen and posted to Iho
Police Division in Edo State. He served for five years before he was dismissed.
He explained that he joined a fraud syndicate in
Asaba, Delta State, after he lost his police job. He started posing as an Assistant
Superintendent of Police (ASP), working at the Force Headquarters Abuja.
He said: “The man, who got me into the syndicate taught
me all the tricks; I became a professional fraudster. I started using my police
experience to defraud people. I adopted the rank of an ASP and people started
coming to me for assistances. Some
policemen, who were looking for promotions came to me for help, just because I
told them I worked in the IG’s office. They paid me and also those that want to
be recruited as police constable, came to me. I usually demanded N150, 000 as
my fee. People, who want to enlist as Cadet
Officers paid me N400, 000. I took
several of such jobs, but only succeeded in delivering just a few. When I failed,
I keep the victims on hold. They all thought I was a genuine policeman. I also
used my position as a fake policeman to smuggle drugs into Ilorin Kwara State
and in some cases, I tell people that I work with the EFCC.
“In the course of my fraud business, I met Blessing at
Ogwuachukwu Polytechnic, Delta State, where she was a student. She told me she was single and we started a
relationship. In the process, she became pregnant and aborted it. She said she
couldn’t have a baby for me, because her family didn’t know me. In April, 2018,
I went for a formal introduction. Blessing’s family asked me to return for a
more elaborate introduction ceremony. They also promised to send me the list
for the marriage.
“On September
7, 2018, I went again with my family and we had the ceremony and I got the
list. On October of that same year,
Blessing informed me that she was pregnant. I said there was no problem; that
we would have to hurry up the marriage. We then fixed December 27, 2018 as the
date of the marriage. I gave her money to buy clothes for the occasion.”
Christian continued his narration: “Blessing got the
clothes, which also included mine. On December 5, 2018, she called and said she
was on her way to Asaba, where I resided. I waited for her, but she didn’t
come. I started calling her, but she refused to pick her calls. Her brother,
Friday, called and informed me that Blessing was in a hospital at Asaba, because
of complications arising from abortion she did. He said that their mother was
at the hospital with her.
“I went to the hospital to see the doctor, but he
refused me access to Blessing and her mother. One of my brothers called and
told me that Blessing called to inform him that she had a miscarriage. I felt
something was fishy. I called her to know what was going on; she told me that
she was in Asaba, staying with her friend.
I went there, but couldn’t see her.
“I waited all day without seeing her; I then stopped
looking for her. On December 21, 2018, she called and informed me that she has
traveled to Lagos. I became very angry and confused. I believed that Blessing
and her mother took me for a fool. I met
one of my friends, Steven and narrated what I was going through to him. Steven advise
me to calm down. But I was so angry. I needed to deal with Blessing and her
mother. I asked Steven to get me a gun with two live cartridges, which he did.
I paid him N10, 000. On December 26,
2018, which was supposed to be the eve of our marriage, I took the gun and went
to Blessing’s village.
“I investigated and discovered that she was in town,
but when I called her, she said that she was in Lagos. I went to a nearby shop
and I bought a bottle of dry gin. I also bought some sachets of Tramadol. I
took them at once to get ‘inspiration.’ I didn’t want to be scared and have a
change of mind. I soon sighted her mother and younger brother, walking towards
my direction. I accosted them, brought out my gun and shot the woman. I watched
her die and then zoomed off on the motorcycle I came with.
“I took the gun to my sister’s place in Oriegoh, and
dropped it with her. I then fled to Rivers State. While in Rivers, I went to stay with a friend,
but I didn’t tell him what I had done. He knew I was a fraudster; we continued
with our fraud business. I even had a
client from Lagos, who was coming to pay me some money on the day I was
arrested.”
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