By Ngozi Uwujare
Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Imo State Police Command said they have arrested three suspects – men who they claim are specialists in cutting off of the manhood of their victims for the purpose of money rituals, after which they would behead the victims.
The suspects are 28-year-old Amarachi Amadi a.k.a. Ishiegburumma of Umugologo Ohuba in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State; 29-year-old Roland Orori of Ekeugba Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of the state, and another 29-year-old man, Akurulo Alimezia.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Barde told Saturday Sun that the arrested suspects are members of an eight-man gang of kidnappers who have been declared wanted and had been on the wanted list of the command since 2020.
He said the suspects have kidnapped over seven victims, cut off their manhood and beheaded them, even though the victims’ relatives have paid millions of naira as ransom to the suspects. He regretted that even after the ransom had been paid, the victims were still killed and their corpses abandoned in the forest.
Mr Barde said it was on August 29, 2022 after getting credible information about the activities of the suspects, that the operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, led by their Commander, Mr Oladimeji Odeyeyiwa, a Superintendent of Police (SUPOL) rescued a victim, Uzondu Ikeazuta when they stormed the kidnappers’ hideout and raided them.
He said the operatives fired sporadically at the kidnappers, during which three of the suspects sustained bullet wounds and were arrested. Some of their victims were subsequently rescued from the hideouts of the suspected kidnappers.
Odeyeyiwa said the three suspected kidnappers and their syndicates were involved in series of kidnappings in the state. He said they were always operating at a junction called Umuguma in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State and at Ohuba Village axis in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of the state. He said these were places where the suspects usually cut off the manhood of their victims and behead some of them after collecting ransom from their relatives.
Odeyeyiwa said his squad members were able to comb the forest. He said they recovered an Imo Motor Van with Reg. number WER 04XB, clothes, shoes, bags, cutlasses, ropes, phones and ATM cards of victims, generator, fan and motorcycles from the suspects.
Also speaking, the police commissioner, Barde, explained that the same gang had, on May 15 2021, kidnapped two victims in Owerri and took them to their hideout. He noted that the suspects tied, beat and blindfolded the victims and demanded N3million as ransom from their relatives.
He said the two victims called their family on phone and paid N800, 000. But in spite of collecting the money, the kidnappers still cut off the manhood of one of the victims. He said the second victim was almost beheaded before the police Anti-Kidnapping operatives came to the rescue.
He said one of the kidnappers was shot dead during a gun duel while others escaped from the scene. He said the fleeing suspected criminals abandoned their pump action rifle, locally-made gun and ten rounds of arms and ammunitions in their hideout as they fled.
“In August 2021, the same gang also kidnapped three victims in the Njaba axis. During the process of taking the victims to their hideout, two of the victims escaped from the car while the remaining victim was taken to the forest. At the forest, these callous suspects beheaded the victim. This was after they had threatened his traumatised family members to pay them some ransom. They did not collect the ransom but abandoned the corpse of the victim in the bush.
“In November 2021, the same eight-member gang kidnapped two victims along the Owerri/Port Harcourt Road. They took the victims to their hideout and demanded the sum of N1 million for each victim. But the information came to the police, and immediately the Anti-Kidnapping operatives stormed the hideout and rescued the two victims. They also arrested one of the suspected kidnappers and recovered an English pistol and pump action and 20 rounds of cartridges from them.
“Also on December 29, 2021, the same gang kidnapped four victims along the Orlu Axis in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo state. They crossed the victims with their vehicle and kidnapped them. They put the victims in their car and took them to their hideout. The victims called their relatives when they demanded a ransom of N1.5 million for each victim. The relatives of the victims paid the ransom and they were released but one of the victims had his manhood cut off before he was released from their camp.
At an interaction with the reporter, one of the victims, Uzondu Ikeazuta told Saturday Sun that his experience in the den of the kidnappers was far from palatable.
“I hail from Ugiri Isiala Mbano Local Government area of Imo State. I am a driver. Around 2pm on August 28, 2022, after eating, my colleagues told me to join them. One of the gang members came from the bush and attacked the vehicle and dragged me out of the car. They tied my two hands and they collected my phone. I called on God that I do not want to be dead inside this bush. I started begging one of the gang members who was guiding me to allow me to go.
“They beat me up and cut part of my manhood and demanded a ransom of N700, 000. I told them that I do not have it. The gang member guiding me smoked Indian hemp and slept off. I managed to use my mouth to remove the rope and loose it and ran away from the forest. I started shouting for help and in the process, one of the hunters assisted me to call the police who swung into action and rescued me. They took me back inside the forest and arrested the suspect, Amarachi Amandi. I am pained that they almost cut off my manhood. I am in pain and agony and I have been to the hospital for medical treatment. It was God on my side that my manhood was not cut off totally. I do not know what to say other than thank God,” he said.
The suspect, Amarachi Amadi a.k.a. Ishiegburumna in a chat, admitted that he was indeed involved in the crime.
Said he: “I hail from Umugologo Ohuba in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. We are a gang of kidnappers, and we are five members. We mostly kidnap victims and cut off their manhood, which we use for money rituals. We have kidnapped over five victims in Rivers and Imo states. The male victim that we kidnapped was from Rivers State. We collected the sum of N2 million from his relatives, after which we cut off his manhood. Then we abandoned him in the bush. We did similar things to other victims and collected millions of naira from their relatives before cutting off their manhood for money ritual.
“It is true that we kidnapped a driver and deceived him that we wanted to buy shako. Suddenly, I started calling other gang members. They attacked him and we dragged him out of the car to our forest. We tied his hands and legs and blindfolded him. We beat him to a state of coma and started requesting for N2 million.
Later, we demanded N700, 000, but he refused to cooperate with us. We were to cut part of the manhood but we did not succeed because he struggled with us. We allowed him to be, thinking that we would soon cut off his manhood. My other gang members went out for another operation. I was the one who was guiding the victim. I smoked my Indian hemp and slept off. I did not know that the victim had escaped. Suddenly, I had an encounter with policemen and I was arrested on August 29, 2022.”
The Commissioner of Police, Mr Barde said the arrested suspects would soon be charged to court.