Police in Abia State has arrested some members of a kidnapping gang that killed a 37-year-old businessman Uzoma Daniel, after collecting N700,000 from his wife.
The police team led by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Intelligence Response Team, IRT, attached to the Aba Area Command in Aba said they caught up with the gang while they went to collect another N300, 000 which they ordered the wife of the deceased to pay even when the husband had been killed.
According to the police, the victim, Daniel was said to have been abducted as he was driving into his compound along Ngwa area of Aba. However, the kidnappers killed him at Ntighauzo in Obingwa council area of the state, while they had promised to release him after negotiating with his family.
Acting on a tip-off, the IGP IRT team swung into action and arrested the kidnappers as the deceased’s wife went to deliver the ransom at the location which the kidnappers had asked for.
Vanguard gathered that the police recovered a pump-action and one locally made short-double barrel gun from the gang.
Police said the deceased’s Toyota Lexus 330 jeep which the kidnappers used to drive him to their den has not been found yet.
“From what we gathered, the suspects trailed him using a commercial tricycle. They drove into his compound immediately after he (deceased) was about to drive into his compound. They ordered him back to his jeep and drove away immediately through the Ngwa road axis.
“Immediately the information got to the police, we swung into action and followed the wife without her even knowing. It was while she was going to drop the second round of ransom of about N300, 000, after she had paid them N700, 000 that we nabbed them. We arrested them and they took us to their camp in a forest at Ntighauzo in Obingwa LGA where they dumped the man’s body.”
Police said the kidnappers confessed during interrogation that Daniel was killed by a member of the gang who was asked to guard him while they had gone to collect the initial N700, 000 ransom.
“When he was asked, he said that the late businessman fought him and bit his finger which made him shoot him to death.”
