Detectives from the Rivers State Police Command have arrested one Emmanuel Ibinabo for allegedly inviting his colleague to his house and conniving with his step – son and his friends to abduct him.
It was gathered that the man invited his colleague to his house in order to kidnap and extort him, claiming he wanted to teach the victim a lesson, because of the rift between them.
The victim who was said to be an asthmatic patient died while in the custody of his colleague who abducted him.
Genesis
The suspect who is from Asari Toru Local Government Area of the state, a graduate of Rivers State University with a bachelors degree in engineering is working with a drilling company in the state for over three years now.
Explaining himself in the custody of the police, Ibinabo said what brought him to the police was the case of his friend, George Christopher, who died in his house over kidnap case.
“We work in the same company, but he has been doing something bad to me as my senior and annoying me, even threatening to sack me from the work. “I have not been happy with him since he threatened to sack me, because I have no other job.
That’s where I get money to take care of my family and extended family. “Ever since then I have been thinking of what to do to pay him back, until when we both went to the hospital together.
And I persuaded him to sleep over in my house instead of the hotel booked for us.
“I have my reasons for asking him not to sleep in the hotel, but to come to my house to sleep. Before then I had told my stepson what to do to him, when he comes.”
Hospital
On October 7, we both went to the hospital for check up as a result of the work we do. And after finishing with the medical check up, Christopher was about to come back to the hotel, but I told him to come to my house because of the plan I had against him and he agreed to follow me to my house.
Kidnap
“Before we got home I had told my stepson, Clinton to invite two of his friends to pretend as a kidnappers to abduct my friend who was coming to my house.
“I had also told my wife about the plan to kidnap the deceased for what he had done to me.” He added that they were already sleeping when his stepson and his friends walked in around 12am and used stick to hit him and asked us to lie down, our hands were tied with rope to the back and kept in a room.
“My stepson and his friends did exactly what I told them to do. In the morn-ing we were untied, but the deceased was about to escape, but I told him not to escape, that the kidnappers will not kill us, but only wanted to collect money from both of us.
“My stepson who pretended to be a kidnapper with his friends then told me and the deceased that they needed ten million naira as ransom, five million each.
My friend told me he doesn’t have the money that I should help him pay it, but promised to pay me back after receiving salary.
“While in the room, where we were kept. I had moved out leaving him alone behind, but he thought I was with him in the room. But I left the room, I held his neck, but he was thinking it was the kidnappers who held him.”
Begging
“He kept begging my stepson and his friends whom he thought were kidnappers not to kill him.
My stepson then lied to him that my wife had paid my five million ransom, immediately he was told my ransom was paid he started shaking.
“I pitied thim at that point, I didn’t know what to do either leave him or continue to hold him. “While he was still with us, his face was still covered with clothes. I left the room where he was kept and went out to think of what to do next about him.
But I was resolve to collect the money from him. “I wanted to teach him a lesson with the money. But not to kill him. Because if I wanted to kill him, I will not send my stepson and his friends to kidnapped him.
I would have sent the real kidnappers to go after him. I regret my actions. “Unfortunately, when I went back to check on him in the room where he was kept, I checked his pause, but he was not breathing well, it was then I knew he was dead.
I had no option than to dispose of him. I took his remains to the abandoned septic well in my house, that was where I dumped his body and used sand to cover it.”
Police intervention
The suspect, his stepson and his two friends were arrested after the River State Police Command received a petition about a missing person, while his phone was tracked.
Our correspondent learnt that the tracking of his phone led to the arrest of the suspects involved in the act, who happened to be the deceased colleague at work place.
The police source said it was through police intelligence led operation that gave out the suspects to the police and the recovery of the deceased body in the abandoned soak away in the victim’s house.
“Before the police got to the scene, wife of the suspect had escaped from the house, but the police was able to nab the husband, son and the two other suspects involved in the act.
“It was an unfortunate incident and a cruel one to a fellow human. The police promised to get to the suspect’s wife.”
Stepson
Meanwhile, Clinton Wilson, who is the suspect’s stepson said he followed the instructions of his stepdad, because he threatened to stop his feeding allowance.
Wilson said it was not his fault, but what his stepdad told him to do that what exactly what he did, “I didn’t want to offend him.”
“I don’t know what transpired between him and his friend, he only called me to get two of my friends and pretend as a kidnappers. Even the ransom my stepdad told me to ask his friend was what he told me.
“When I told my mom about what her husband told me, she told me to follow all his instructions, because we have no other place to go. When I told my two friends who followed me, they were also afraid.
“What my friends told me was that hope police will not arrest them, I assured them that no one will arrest them, we didn’t beat nor touch him.
I was shocked when my stepdad told me the man was dead, it was then I knew the police will come after my friends and I. I regret my actions, it was what I was sent to do that I did.
God should forgive me of my sins and actions.” Wilson added that, it was him and his friends who tied the victim and his stepdad, for the victim not to suspect them.
– He said: “Initially I never knew the victim was my stepdad’s friend and colleague, he only told me he wanted to collect ransom from the victim’s family, that I should get two more people to join me.
“It was after the victim died that I got to know that the man and my stepdad were working in the same company. It was my stepdad that told me that the victim had already dead.”
Police
The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Grace Iringe- Koko advised people to always tell their loved one where they were going to, even a friend should know your location.
She said: “Don’t always keep your movement a secret from your wife and neighbors whenever you are going out. What the suspect and his stepson did to the victim was a case of act of wickedness to a fellow human being.
“People should learn from this act of cruelty to fellow human being, it was pure envy from the side of the suspect.
The suspect told his stepson to get two more people to act like midnappers so as to extort money from his friend. While the victim was an asthmatic patient.
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