BEVERLY HILLS, April 02, (THEWILL) – Three suspected kidnappers have been killed in a gun battle with a Special Squad of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command.
The crossfire ensued when men of the command stormed a kidnappers’ hideout in Mbiaso Community of Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of the state and exhumed the body of a businessman, Onyeka Ezewulu, buried in a shallow grave after the family paid a N2 million ransom.
The deceased was said to have been shot while trying to escape from the kidnappers who had stormed his residence along Idoro Road, Uyo.
Sources told our correspondent that Ezewulu later died from losing much blood from the bullet wounds and was buried in a shallow grave.
The kidnappers however succeeded in collecting a ransom of N2 million from members of his family who were unaware he had died earlier on.
The source said that the kidnappers’ hideout and the shallow grave in which they buried their victim were discovered following detailed investigation into the kidnapping of Ezewulu, led by one Julian Igbodu, a Chief Superintendent of Police.
The police team, which was accompanied by two pathologists from the police and the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, conducted an autopsy on the corpse before it was handed over to the family members for burial.
A female member of the gang, Deborah Sunday, was first apprehended and subsequently assisted the police with useful information that led to the arrest of others.
Explaining how Ezewulu met his Waterloo, Deborah said that when her gang members ambushed him, he attempted to run away but was shot in the right leg, bundled into their Toyota Camry car and taken to the hideout.
She confessed that she got a share of the N2 million ransom paid by the victim’s family.
A brother to the deceased, Patrick, disclosed that the late China-based businessman, who dealt in exotic boxes and cloths, had actually arrived to check on his family residing along Idoro Road, Uyo, and his business outlets in the state, when the unfortunate incident happened.
He lamented that they did not know that he was already dead while the kidnappers were negotiating with family members to pay the ransom for his release.
Patrick said: “Unknown to us, the hoodlums had already killed Onyeka, before we paid them on March 10, 2021 the sum of N2 million as ransom for them to release him. That is why after the payment was made to them we waited days to see him regain his freedom, but to no avail.
“We didn’t know he actually died a day after he was kidnapped, that is four days before we paid the ransom for his release. This is sad.”
Addressing newsmen after the body of the deceased was exhumed, the Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko MacDon, described the incident as unfortunate and regrettable, and appealed to members of the public to always provide useful information on criminal activities within their domains.
He lauded the Tactical Team for the feat, disclosing that three of the kidnappers met their waterloo during a gun duel with the police team.
It was gathered that the same gang was responsible for kidnapping one Barrister Ime Sampson on December 31, 2020 at the Mbierebe Junction by the Third Ring Road leading to the Godswill Akpabio International stadium, Uyo.
Investigations revealed that Sampson regained his freedom after the family paid N2.6 million as ransom and he spent eight days in the kidnappers’ captivity.
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