Operatives of the Intelligence Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested three brothers for the kidnap and gruesome murder of a 55-year-old mother of five in Abuja.
The suspects, of the same parentage, allegedly kidnapped and murdered one Mrs Janet Nnenna Ogbonnaya on Sunday, May 14, 2020, and threw her body into a septic tank before demanding a N5million ransom from the family.
A release issued by Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, named the suspects as: Johnson Emmanuel (38), Gideon Emmanuel (31), and Success Emmanuel (27).
The murdered widow was said to be a Facebook friend of the principal suspect, Johnson Emmanuel.
Mba revealed that the suspects, natives of Isiekenesi, in the Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State, were arrested in their home town where they had reportedly taken refuge after committing the crime in Abuja, ostensibly to evade police arrest.
“Investigations that led to the arrest of the suspects,” said Mba, “is sequel to complaints received from one Chinedu Ogbonnaya who alleged that his mother, Mrs Janet Nnenna Ogbonnaya, 55yrs, native of Ozuitem in Bende LGA of Abia State had been kidnapped and a 5-Million naira ransom demanded before she could be released. A comprehensive and painstaking investigation by the police operatives resulted in the arrest of the three (3) suspects, whom, in the course of interrogation, revealed that the victim had long been murdered and buried.
“Further findings revealed that the victim, a widow, who had been a Facebook friend of the principal suspect – Johnson Emmanuel, was lured from her home in Gwagwalada to visit the suspect. The suspect thereafter took advantage of the visit, served her yoghurt laced with drugs and subsequently had her murdered. The suspect having killed the victim and buried her remains in a septic tank, went ahead to reach out to the family of the victim using her phone and demanded 5-Million naira ransom as pre-condition for her release.”
On Thursday, June 4, 2020, the suspects led a team of investigators, alongside police pathologists, to a residence at Wumba District, Lokogoma, Abuja, where the victim’s decomposing body was recovered from a septic tank. The exhumed body has since been deposited at the University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, for forensic examination.
Similarly, a Toyota Highlander Jeep belonging to the deceased was also recovered by the police at a mechanic workshop in Apo, also in Abuja. It had been repainted into a different colour, its documents fraudulently changed, and its ownership criminally transferred to one of the alleged masterminds of the crime, Johnson Emmanuel.
“Investigations also revealed that the house where the deceased was killed and buried originally belonged to one of the suspects but was hurriedly sold-off to a third party apparently to obliterate evidence,” Mba further revealed.
While commending the police operatives for a job well done, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, reassured that perpetrators of any form of crimes in Nigeria will not go undetected and unpunished. He, however, urged citizens to be more security conscious and report any suspicious activities within their neighbourhood to the nearest police station.