By Desire Emmanuel
The Anambra State Police Command on Friday, April 24, gave details of how some kidnappers lured an electrician with a job offer, blindfolded him after his abduction and eventually collected the sum of N469,000 as ransom.
The command said after collecting the ransom, the abductors refused to release the victim who was eventually rescued by the operatives of the command.
It was gathered that in the evening of April 18, police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, in collaboration with members of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group, while acting on a credible intelligence, stormed a bush located at Umuezeala Awuda Village, Nnobi, in Idemili North Local Government Area.
The team arrested three of the kidnappers, rescued the victim and recovered one locally-made Beretta pistol and the ransom from the location.
The names of those arrested at the scene were given as Chidalu Obi, aged 25 years; Chichebem Ojenigbo, aged 26 years and Chikannechukwu Eze, aged 20 years.
The command, in a statement on Friday regarding the arrest wrote: “Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects lured the victim, an electrician by profession, under the pretext of offering him a job.
“Upon arrival at the agreed location, the victim was blindfolded at gunpoint and taken to the bush at Umuezeala Awuda, where he was held captive.”
Meanwhile, during their interrogation, the three men were said to have confessed to the crime and admitted to collecting the ransom which was transferred into a popular sports betting account belonging to Chidalu Obi.
The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka, for more investigation and they are expected to be charged to court at the conclusion of the investigation.
