All might not be smooth for members of Kingdom of God Conscious Movement
International Church, as their General Overseer, 65-year-old Rev Lord
Ojeee also known as Nduwusi Kanu is now
cooling off in police cell after being fingered as the mastermind of the
kidnap
and murder of the former Chairman of Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo
State,
Hon. Godwin Igbo who was 70-year-old at the time of the incident.
The cleric was said to have hired a gang of kidnappers for a
fee of N2m, out of which he made an initial deposit of N50,000 for the
abduction of Igbo over an alleged land dispute and chieftaincy title of Eze
Agu Nechenba 1 of Ikpoeze 1 of Arondizuogu community in Imo State.
The operation, which went awry, led to the death of the
former council boss who was thereafter buried in a shallow grave in a thick
forest at Lokpanta, Abia State by his abductors.
Police investigations into the matter, however, led to the
arrest of two of the kidnappers, one of them, a nephew to Rev Lord Ojee,
22-year-old Adindu Chukwu a.k.a. Alhaji and a 27-year-old Udoh Amaechi Oko who
both collected N500,000 as ransom from the family of the deceased even after he
was murdered.
The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu
told Saturday Sun that the former council chief was on a transit to Enugu State
on April 10, 2014 when he was kidnapped, murdered and buried in a shallow grave
in a thick forest at Lokpanta, Abia State.
CP Adamu said he received a petition by the family of the
deceased in May over the kidnap. The police boss subsequently transferred the
case to the Anti-Kidnappers Squad to investigate. It was learnt that in the
course of investigations by the Alex Akinlalu-led team, detectives had an
encounter with two suspected kidnappers, one of them identified as ‘Black’, a
cult member of Vicking Confraternity who received gunshot injuries and later
died. But before he died, the police were able to recover two phones of the
late Godwin Igbo from him.
‘Black’ was also said to have confessed before he died that
he was part of the gang that killed the late Igbo and buried him in an Abia
forest. On October 15, the Anti-Kidnappers Squad arrested Udoh Ameachi Oko at
Okigwe in Imo State and this also led to the arrest of Adindu Chukwu a.k.a.
Alhaji at Garikki in Okigwe, Imo State. Chukwu was said to have confessed that
it was Lord Ojee, who sent them to kidnap the late Godwin Igbo with a promise
to give them N2m, out of which he gave them N50,000 “for drinks and welfare.”
This in turn led to the arrest of the General Overseer of
God Conscious Movement International, Rev Lord Ojee at Uratta road junction,
Aba/Port Harcourt road, Aba. All the suspects, the police boss confirmed, are
now at the Anti-Kidnapers Squad’s custody where they have allegedly confessed
to the crime.
In his confession, one of the suspects, Chukwu a.k.a. Alhaji
said: “Rev Lord Ojee is my uncle. He is the younger brother to my mother. Rev
Lord Ojee came to the village, Umulolo Okigwe every month and he has a
misunderstanding with the late Godwin Igbo over 10 years ago over land dispute
and the chieftaincy title of “Eze Agu Nechenba 1 of Ikpo Eze 1 of Arondizuogu
community. My uncle, Rev Lord Ojee approached me and wanted me to organise some
boys to kidnap the late Godwin Igbo to show him that he has power.
“I have to meet ‘Black’, one of the leaders of kidnappers
who is now late and he organised five members for the job and that include
myself. My uncle promised to settle us with N2 million if the job was
accomplished and he gave me N50,000 for drinks and welfare which we used to
enjoy ourselves before we carried out the operation” , he said. Chukwu further
confessed: “We went to the late Godwin Igbo to kidnap him in his village at
Ekpa Eze in Aro Ndinuzo –Ogu in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State around
8.00pm on April 10, 2014. We took him away and we kept the victim inside a
Toyota car and put him in the boot of the car. He fainted and in the process he
died.
“We took the corpse of the late Igbo into a thick forest and
buried him in a shallow grave on April 10, 2014. We collected the deceased’s
two phones and called his family members and demanded N2 million ransom. The
family members didn’t know that Igbo was dead. They paid N500,000 to us and two
days later, I went to meet my uncle, Rev Lord Ojee and explained to him that
Godwin Igbo was kidnapped and was dead. The intention of my uncle was not to
kill Igbo but to kidnap him and keep him away but unfortunately he died.
“I came to meet my uncle, to collect the N2 million that he
promised us. My uncle insisted that since we have collected N500, 000 from the
deceased’s family that that should be okay for us. My uncle gave me N5,000 for
transport.”
Speaking further, Chukwu said: “My uncle, Ojee quickly
called the elders in the village to Genesis Hotel, Okigwe to hear from the
elders whether they will mention his name or suspected whether he is the one
who killed Godwin Igbo. I have serious quarrel with my uncle for refusing to
pay the N2 million he promised us. I was given N60,000 as a share of the money
we collected from the deceased’s family.”
Another suspect, Udoh Amaechi Oko, who hails from Afikpo
Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, explained: “It was Chukwu who contacted
our gang leader, ‘Black’ who is now late, that we should kidnap Godwin Igbo
over a land and chieftaincy dispute with his uncle, Rev Lord Ojee. We kidnapped
the deceased and kept him in the boot of the car. Later, he died”.
“We called the deceased’s family and demanded N2 million
and they paid N500,000 and I was given a share of N80,000”, he said .
In his reaction, Rev Lord Ojee told Saturday Sun: “I have
been in ministry for almost 50 years. It is true I had a misunderstanding with
the deceased, Godwin Igbo for over 10 years. I know the suspect, Adindu Chukwu,
he is my elder sister’s son. I heard that Igbo died when they kidnapped him”,
he said.
CP Adamu, however, stated that the suspects would soon be
charged to court, saying the police had already gone to the scene of the crime
to exhume the corpse of Godwin Igbo.
CULLED: Sun
No comments:
Post a Comment