• L-R) Chukwu, Kelechi, James and Azubiuke- suspected kidnappers of Sarah Nwakudu Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Four young men would have to work very hard, even after serving their various jail terms, to appease a 75 years-old woman, who is old enough to be their grand mother, to remove the curses she has placed on them.

The furious grandma, Ezeine Sarah Nwakudu, said it would not be well with these young men, three of them in their early 20s and the other, a 30 years old man, for kidnapping her, demanding a N200million ransom, stealing from her and inflicting pains on her for no just cause.

Grandma Nwakudu, who hails from Amawon, Ikwena Local government Council of Abia State, said she found it difficult to refrain from cursing these men who are young enough to be her grand children, for taking her captive, an act she described as satanic.

Narrating her experience to journalists at the Police Force headquarters, Abuja last week, she said, " I heard some people outside shouting. I thought they were fighting, so I had to open the door. Immediately I opened the door, somebody grabbed me. I struggled with him and he threw me down and pointed gun at me, asked me to give them money. After giving them money, they asked for my car key, I brought out the car key.

“By that time I was half-naked because I tied wrapper on my waist. I was from the bathroom. They dragged me, I gave them the money and they ransacked my boxes and my room. They carried some amount. I gave them N23,000 but they took away monies that belonged to the women group.
"They asked me to wear my dress after searching my room.

They said I should come and open the car for them. Then they asked for the gate key because they came in through the fence."
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mike Okiro, while parading the suspected kidnappers identified them as Chukwu Uche, 23, James Ijebuowu, 24, Azubuike Elendu, 30 and a 24 years old Kelechi Egelamba, students of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede.

Stating the facts of the case, the IGP said, "On 12th of April, 2008, at about 2315hours, acting on intelligence information that some suspected kidnappers operating in a Mercedes Benz V-Boot car with registration no. Abia HE 641 AAA were in Umuahia to kidnap more victims, an alert police patrol team from ‘B’ department (operations) Umuahia led by Inspr Ita Nteken laid siege and intercepted the said vehicle with three suspects along Ikot-Ekpene road, Umuahia."

He said on searching the vehicle, one locally made pistol was found in it. On interrogation, the IGP said the suspects, all students of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, confessed that they were kidnappers. He further said that they led the police operatives to their hideout, where their victim, Mrs Sarah Nwakudu was held captive and she was immediately freed.

He said the victim when interviewed, disclosed that the suspects stole the sum of N23, 000 cash from her, and through the telephone, demanded a ransom of N200million from her relations, to secure her release.

One of the suspects, who said he was a Public Administration student of the Polytechnic, claim to be undergoing his one–year Industrial Training, said he was mis advised by his friend James, who was also on parade.

"He called me that one of his friends bought a car, that he want me to go and drive the car for them. When we reached there, I saw that they kidnapped a woman. I did not know the woman before. As I entered the car, I saw the woman inside the car. The woman is the owner of the car. We kidnapped her in her house", he confessed.

Another suspect, Chukwu Uche, who said he was from Umuahia, and an Electrical Electronic engineering student of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, also stated his side to their deal. "I was in my house on Friday, when my friend came looking for me, with one other man.

They told me about a kidnapping deal. He has been saying it before, but I wasn’t interested. Because of my financial situation; my elder sister that was taking care of me stopped giving me money for feeding, so I started conceiving the thought of going with them", he confessed.

Looking young and innocent, you could never suspect these boys for crimes of such magnitude, not even their victim would have thought that they were capable of such devilish act. Consequently, she said she has not been able to recover from that shock and the treatment meted on her.

She said: "I couldn’t get my self even up till now. Yes, these people are like grand children to me. I think its God that brought them out because they’ve been doing it. The place they kept me was so bad that no human being can stay there for two or three days. I don’t know what to say to them. If I am in the government shoes, all these bad eggs should be flushed out so that the community would be in peace."

Raining curses on them and describing them as devils, Eziene wondered if God would forgive her captors, saying that their attitude to her, showed that though they were young, their hearts was as old and hardened as that of the devil. "I don’t think that God will forgive them because of what they did. If they don’t repent, how can God forgive them? God doesn’t forgive any body that doesn’t repent. God’s word says that if you repent and turn back from your evil ways, God will surely forgive you. But their hearts are hardened. They’re hardened criminals", she stated.