Chioma Igbokwe
Suspected kidnappers now in police net, have revealed why they decided to tie up their gang leader, one Raymond Enahon, and abandon him in a bush at Obiaruku village, Delta State, to die.
The suspects identified as Iweh Kevwe and Emmanuel Ogibi were arrested by operatives of Inspector General of Police, Intelligence Response Team (IRT), while on the trail of Raymond Enahon, a private security man who was accused of participating in several kidnappings. One of such cases was the kidnap of the former finance officer at the Delta State University. His family was said to have paid the sum of N5 million before he was released. All efforts to pick Raymond failed as he was said to have gone missing for some days.
But what appeared to be a riddle was resolved when the IRT team in Delta picked up Iweh Kevwe and Emmanuel Ogibi, two of his gang members. They also recovered from them three rifles, an iron cutter and the Lexus jeep that the suspects claimed Raymond used their money to purchase.
In the course of investigation, detectives discovered that the gang, made up of security guards from different locations, have successfully kidnapped several persons within the area they were supposed to guard. During interrogation, they confessed to the police that Raymond was the leader of their gang and the mastermind behind the kidnap of the former university officer.
They told the police that they tied Raymond up and left him to die in a bush in Obiaruku village. The suspects took the police to the spot were they abandoned him and discovered that true to their fears only his decomposing body, still tied up, was seen at the place, though they left him there alive.
Throwing light on why they turned against their leader, the suspects said that Raymond absconded with the N5 million they got from one of their victims.
How we lured him to his death
Begging for mercy, Kevwe, 28, said that his greatest wish is to witness the birth of his baby. “I am from Ethiope East in Delta State. I am happily married and I have a beautiful daughter,” he said by way of introduction. “My wife is pregnant and is due to give birth next week. I was working with S & D security consultancy firm before police arrested me. I pray for a miracle so that I can be by the side of my wife when she gives birth to our son.”
On the case that led to his arrest, Kevwe recalled that sometime in 2018 while he was still working for Sheriff Deputy, a security consultancy, their unit head sold him the idea to kidnap someone and make quick money. “I got a job as a private security man and was posted to Delta State University, Abraka. My salary then was N20, 000 a month.
“The head of security in that unit, known as Raymond called me one day and said that we need to make our lives better. He told me that the finance officer of the school is very rich because of the different cars that drove about. I asked him if he knew anything about kidnapping and he told me that he has done it severally. I agreed and he made arrangements. He invited three others while I invited my friend. Since we knew when our victim normally comes and close from work, it was easy to pick him up on the day we agreed.
“As soon as we picked him up, he was taken to the bush inside the school compound. So we made use of one of the uncompleted building as our hideout. Since we were the security men who normally go on patrol, it was easy to keep him in the compound. On one of the days while I was guarding him, some students passed by and when they saw me in my uniform, they just greeted and continued their journey. Our victim was gagged, so he could only hear voices but cannot call out for help.”
According to Kevwe, Raymond decided to handle the negotiation with the family while the others took turns to guard their victim. “Raymond was the one negotiating with the family of the man, and also led the security team that visited the man’s house when the incident happened. He made sure that he diverted the attention of the policemen that came after the man was kidnapped and gathered information that he used to scare the family. Four days later, they paid N5 million and we released him. After he was released, Raymond switched off his phone and we could not get across to him.
“He disappeared and no one, including his family members, could tell where he went to. Two weeks later, I received a call from him and he asked me to run away from Delta as police had arrested two of our gang members. I relocated to Port Harcourt and also told Emmanuel (Ogibi) to find his way till police stopped looking for us. The others were angry and I told them to calm down that we would find a way to collect the money. We discovered that he took the N5 million and bought Lexus 330 jeep for himself. After about a month, I returned to Delta State and the four of us that police did not arrest agreed that we must collect our money from Raymond.
“I called to tell him that I have a big job that we will make up to N100 million. I pleaded with him to forget about the past and help us out with this job. I assured him that he would make enough money to repay us. He agreed and two weeks ago, he came to the regular hideout where we normally have our meeting. Our plan was to collect our money by force. As soon as he arrived, we overpowered him and tied him up. With his ATM card we were able to transfer all the money that we saw in his account. We took the new car that he bought with our money and left him in the bush. We sold the car N1.4 million and shared the proceeds amongst ourselves. We did not bother to untie him with hope that someone would find him in Obiaruku bush where we left him.
“Unfortunately, six days later police arrested two of us and we told them about Raymond and how we tied him up. We took the police to the spot and found him in the same position but he was already dead. I am sorry and I am begging for an opportunity to be a better person. My wife will give birth to a boy this week and I need to be a good father to my children. Please forgive me; Raymond was greedy, that was why he got that reward.”
Plea for mercy
The second suspect, Emmanuel Ogibi, told Saturday Sun that he was already at the kidnap scene when he realized that they were there to pick up one man. “I am a commercial motorcycle rider popularly known as Okada and Iweh is one of my loyal customers,” he said when asked to introduce himself. “We became friends and started chatting. I was supposed to pay the owner of the Okada, N1000 on a daily basis but one day Iweh took the bike and disappeared for days. I was so unhappy and the owner of the bike was already angry and threatened to arrest me. I assured him that I would pay up. He called one day and said that I should join a fast job and assured me that I would get enough money to pay off the owner of the bike and also buy my own.
“I agreed and followed him. I was shocked when suddenly the other boys pulled out their gun and grabbed one man. There was no way that I could run away because I have seen their faces. I had no choice but to join them. After the ransom was paid, we discovered that Raymond, the leader of the group, has disappeared. We later agreed and lured him out. We tied him up and left him in the bush. I am so sorry. If I did not follow them, they would have killed me.”