By Desire Emmanuel
Policemen from the Rivers State command have recovered the body of a kidnap victim in a shallow grave after the abductors killed him, threw his body inside a river and thereafter buried the remains in a shallow grave.
The state police command announced the development in a statement on Monday, January 5, as it added that two of the abductors were arrested in connection with the incident.
According to reports, a petition regarding the disappearance of a man, Sampson Worianime, was sent to the police station after the man accompanied his community youths from Ogbogbo in Okrika to measure land at their old settlement.
Following the petition said to have been written by the victim’s mother, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (AKU) launched an investigation, leading to the arrest of two men, Igwe Alex, aged 26 years, said to be the the Chief Security Officer of Aleto-Eleme community and John Mikel, aged 24 years, also from Aleto Eleme.
According to the command, during a preliminary investigation, the two men confessed to have abducted two youths from Okrika, including the victim. While one of those abducted escaped, Worianime was killed by the abductors and his body thrown into a nearby river.
The body was later buried inside a shallow grave in the community.
The command wrote: “The suspects led police operatives to the location where the corpse was buried, and the remains of the victim were recovered from a shallow grave. The suspects are currently in police custody, cooperating with team of investigators. Efforts are underway to apprehend other accomplices.”
The case has also been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for more investigation and the men are expected to be charged to court at the conclusion of the investigation.
Photographs of the exhumed body of the victim posted by the command alongside the statement are too gory to be included in this report.
