How I knew hired killers were after me, says politician

Juliana Francis

A Delta State Politician, Honourable Sunday Nwakego, has revealed how he got to discover that some cultists were hired by a member of his community to kill him.

Nwakego, 45, said he was lucky to be alive because he knew that Sunday Okoro aka GI, who hired some men to kill him, had caused the disappearance of several people in the community.

According to him, he wouldn’t have known about the plan to kill him and taken proactive steps, if not that one of those hired to kill him, turned on others and decided to pass the information about his forthcoming assassination to him.

He said: “I know G1 as a very troublesome person. He has caused several havoc in our community. I have cautioned several times through his elder brother. I don’t know if that was what might have made him angry with me. I’m the National President of Supportive Youth for Change. I have been trying to rehabilitate young people who had taken to crimes in our community. GI didn’t like this because he’s a member of Ice-lander cult group. I wrote a petition to the Delta State Police Command against him. I know his antecedent. He caused the disappearance of Lucky Jedeje Ogenerepre and Takaraye Ibila. He kidnapped them in public glare and took them away. Nobody knew where they are and people are too scared to confront him. It was because of his constant harassment of my person, that I wrote a petition to Abuja. Following my petition, G1 ran to Abuja in attempt to forestall his arrest. We were both invited to Abuja and when we got there, police discovered that he was truly the person fomenting trouble. They cautioned both of us and asked us to go home and live in peace. I later got information that he had recruited his fellow cultists from Bayelsa and Rivers State to assassinate me. I thought it was a joke until the police arrested some of the boys and they started narrating how they had been monitoring my movement.”

G1, 35, married with 14 children, responding to Nwakego’s allegation, said: “I didn’t plan to kill him. All the things said about me are lies!  I have been attacked by one Joseph in the past and Nwakego is always seen with Joseph. He framed me, alleging that I wanted to him, but I didn’t have such a plan.”

Six men were arrested for allegedly attempting to murder Nwakego, who is also an Enugu State businessman, residing in Sapele, Delta State.

The suspects, who confessed to being members of the Ice-lander confraternity, have been identified as Shedrack Neburagho, Onyema Wire, Onyekachi Amadi, Onyekachi Amadi, Alanko Suloko and Sunday Okoro aka GI.

They were arrested by Operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team, IRT, headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari.

According to police, the ringleader, G1, a community youth leader in Sapele, had been active in most of the community unrests within the area.

GI was alleged to have recruited five of his cult members from Delta State, Port Harcourt, Rivers and Bayelsa states, with the aim of assassinating Nwakego, whom he considered to be his rival.

The police further disclosed that G1 brought two AK47 rifles and a pistol for the operation. He kept the men holed up in a hotel and then promised to pay them N2million after Nwakego had been eliminated. It was from the hotel that the hired men started monitoring Nwakego.

GI was also alleged to have led the assassins to the politician’s house and his place of business, where they had planned to attack him. The earlier plan was to attack him on the road, but that plan was jettisoned because of Nwakego’s police escorts.

Police further explained that G1’s plot failed, when one of the suspects, Shedrack Neburagho, informed Nwakego about the plot to kill him. The politician quickly alerted IRT Operatives, who got G1 and his hired hands arrested.

Neburagho, 35, said: “Nwakego is my elder brother’s boss. GI, who has a hotel in Sapele is my friend. Sometimes in July 2020, G1 invited me to join him on a trip to Bayelsa State. When we got there, we met one Master, whom G1 had a conversation with. Master linked us to Onyema Wire, who he told to get some boys for him that he wanted to deal with Nwakego. He said that Nwakego was a bad influence and had been collecting all the contracts, which were supposed to come to him. Before then, GI had killed one of my elder brother’s bosses, Bore. It affected my brother.  Then G1 cut me out of the plan, but Onyema kept telling me what was going on. When the plan was getting to its advanced stage, I was informed that G1 had brought two Ak47 rifles and a pistol. The guns were serviced in G1’s hotel, then they went to Nwakego’s house to monitor him from an uncompleted building close to his house. They also went to his night club to monitor his movements at night.  I passed this information to Nwakego. He brought in the police and G1 and some of the men were arrested.   I was also arrested because G1 alleged after his arrest that I had a gun, which he said I had been using to terrorise people in our community. But it’s a lie! He implicated me because I told Nwakego about the plan to kill him.”

Another suspect, Onyema, 36, said: “I met G1 through one of my friends called Master. I had my first meeting with G1 in Rivers State and he told me about the deal to kill the politician. He promised to pay me N2million, build me a house and buy me a car if I assisted in killing Nwakego.  I came to Sapele, but later changed my mind when I realised G1 wasn’t trustworthy. But I was arrested before I could return to my base in Rivers State.” 

Amadi, 29, said he joined the gang because G1 also promised to pay him N2million after the operation and also placed him on a monthly salary.

He said: “I’m a bricklayer but it was my brother that linked me to G1. He told us that he wanted us to assist him to kill a politician. He brought two Ak47 rifles and a pistol. He promised to pay us N2million and also placed us on a salary. The reason we couldn’t strike was because Nwakego was also moving with policemen. G1showed me Nwakego’s picture and took me to the target’s house. It was Onyema that brought the police to arrest Alanko Suloko and I. We then took the police to arrest G1 and his boy, Blessing.  I can take the police to the hotel where we had all the plans.”