Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Nigeria Police Force headquarters in Abuja says operatives from the Intelligence Response Unit have arrested three brothers for the alleged kidnap and murder of one Mrs Janet Nnenna Ogbonnaya on May 14th at Gwagalad.
The suspects – Johnson Emmanuel, m, 38, Gideon Emmanuel, m, 31 and Success Emmanuel, m, 27 – were arrested in their home town where they had relocated to evade police arrest.
The suspects, who hail from Isiekenesi, Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State, are all brothers.
Police spokesman Frank Mba, who made this known in Abuja, said one of the suspects who had been a Facebook friend of the murdered woman, had invited her to his home at Gwagwalada, where she was served with yoghurt laced with drugs.
Mba said the suspects, having killed the victim and buried her remains in a septic tank at a private residence at Wumba District, Lokogoma, placed a call to her family with her phone number to demanded N5 million for her release.
Mba said that upon their arrest, the suspects took detectives to the house where the decomposing body has been exhumed and taken to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital for forensic examination.
Mba also said that the Toyota Highlander Jeep belonging to the deceased was recovered at a mechanic workshop in Apo where it had been repainted.
Mba said in a statement:
‘Police operatives attached to the of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested three (3) suspects namely; for the kidnap and gruesome murder of one Mrs Janet Nnenna Ogbonnaya on 14th May 2020. The suspects, born by same parents, all-male and native of Isiekenesi, Ideato LGA of Imo State were arrested by the Police in their home town where they had taken refuge after committing the crime in Abuja, in order to evade police arrest.
‘Investigations that led to the arrest of the suspects is the sequel to complaints received from one Chinedu Ogbonnaya who alleged that his mother, Mrs Janet Nnenna Ogbonnaya, 55 years, a 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.
‘Meanwhile, today 4th June 2020, the suspects led a team of investigators alongside pathologists to a residence at Wumba District, Lokogoma, Abuja where the victim’s decomposing body was exhumed from a septic tank. The exhumed body has been taken to the University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja for forensic examination.
‘A Toyota Highlander Jeep belonging to the deceased has also been recovered by Police operatives at a mechanic workshop in Apo where it had been repainted into a different colour, vehicle documents fraudulently changed and ownership of the stolen vehicle criminally transferred to one of the 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.
‘The Inspector-General of Police, IGP MA Adamu, NPM, mni, while commending the operatives for a job well done, reassures that perpetrators of any form of crimes in the country will not go undetected and unpunished. He, however, enjoins citizens to be more security conscious and report any suspicious activities within their neighbourhood to the nearest police station.’