On Tuesday, February 6, the police in Ebonyi State paraded seventeen individuals for a range of offenses, including armed robbery, murder, and kidnapping.
The accused gunmen who broke into the Immaculate Conception Parish in Abakaliki on Christmas eve and murdered three Catholic worshipers were among those exhibited.
Suspected kidnappers of several returnees from the United States and the United Kingdom in Afikpo, the state’s Afikpo Local Government area, were also among those apprehended.
According to Joshua Ukandu, a spokesman for the police, three members of Immaculate Catholic Conception Parish, Nkwagu in the state capital of Abakaliki were killed on Friday by Igwe and Nnabugwe Ebube.
The statement read as follows: “On December 24, 2023, armed individuals broke into the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Nkwagu. They killed one Obinna Cyril Mbam, Nwifuru Chukwuebuka Mathew, and Alo Onyedikachi Solomon. They also stole a black Toyota Corolla that belonged to the late Obinna Mbam.
“Command personnel acted quickly, capturing Friday Igwe and Nnabugwe Ebube and retrieving the Toyota Corolla. The suspects that have been arrested have produced leads for additional arrests.
Njoku Michael, an Abia State resident and one of the suspects in the Afikpo attack, described how he was tricked into doing the act by a man known only as “Alhaji.”
Before they released the captives, he claimed they had received N40 million in ransom.
“We were four people who carried out the kidnapping, but only two of us were apprehended by the police, and we don’t know where the other two are,” he stated.
“No one was shot; the woman who passed away did so out of fear. We did not kill anyone.” I was not informed of the person’s involvement in the kidnapping of the individuals we abducted in Ebonyi.
“My customer is a Fulani man who got involved with me.” I sell provisions in my shop, and he buys stuff from me.
On December 13, 2023, the man arrived to my shop carrying his cattle. Alhaji, you have a lot more cows now, I told him.
“Yes, the cows are mine,” he informed me. I begged him for a N50,000 loan, promising to repay him in February of this year. He informed me that he is broke and said he will contact me again.
The man returned to me five days later, but this time he didn’t bring his cattle. I’ve never been to Afikpo, but he told me he wanted to transport me there for work.
When I asked what kind of labor he wanted me to perform, he told me it was manure work and that if I worked hard, I would get paid N30,000 or N40,000 in four days. I agreed and asked my brother to watch over my shop so I could follow the Alhaji and get to work.
“I went to Afikpo with the man, and we arrived there late on New Year’s Eve. He put me up in a motel and bought me dinner. He stopped his bike in the morning, invited me to ride with him, led me into a dense forest, and promised to return.
“He went and collected his two brothers and placed them under my care. It was evening, and he failed to inform me of our plans.
“He departed from us and returned carrying a bag. It was a gun and a cloth when he turned it on the ground. I asked him what we were going to do with the gun, and he said, “You mentioned you were looking for money, so now is the time to look for it.”
He told us to follow him while he finished getting ready. When we arrived at a bush trail, he gave us the order to remain in a corner of it.
He shot into the air when he noticed a jeep approaching while we were in the forest. When the car came to a stop, he attacked it and unlocked the door.
He commanded the two men and one woman, who were present, to follow us by placing them out on the ground. He led the way in the front, and we followed him into a dense woodland. Before reaching the dense woodland, we hiked for two hours.
Njoku claimed to have received $30 from the N40 million ransom, which was paid in both naira and USD.
