For allegedly leading his gang members to kidnap his 70-year-old aunt, a young man in Imo State has brought trouble upon himself.
Vitus Nneji, 28, reportedly arranged with four other men to kidnap Dr. (Mrs) Catherine Ndu. Thereafter, they demanded a ransom of N50 million from her distraught family. The incident occurred at Owo Amakohi village in Imo State.
But the law has caught up with the young man and his accomplices. They are now cooling their heels inside a dingy police cell, awaiting their date with the law. Nneji, also known as Akamalu, sold the idea to kidnap his septuagenarian aunt to the other men. They allegedly committed the crime at Owo Amakohi on February 16, 2011.
After her abduction, she was allegedly taken to a hideout inside the bush in Owerri. From there, her abductors started making calls to the woman’s family, saying they would only release her if they were paid N50 million. The family went into negotiations with members of Nneji’s group, and the money was reduced to N3million. Later, both parties agreed on a N2.6million ransom. The family then offered to pay the agreed sum.
Soon after, Dr. Ndu’s children went to the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Maishanu, to lodge a complaint over their mother’s abduction. The police boss ordered his men to swing into action. The police also informed the victim’s family to play along with the kidnappers. At the agreed time, the family went to drop the N2.6m at a spot along Aladima Road in Owerri.
Early in the morning on February 22, police operatives stormed the bush around Bishop Quarters and met the suspected kidnappers as they were about sharing the money among themselves. They were arrested. The police gave the names of the suspects, who had reportedly confessed to the crime, as Okechukwu Onyeh, Emeka Ikenna, William Odunze, Njoku Chinedu, and Vitus Nneji.
In a chat with our reporter, the victim, Mrs. Ndu expressed gratitude to God and the police for freeing her from her abductors. She recalled how the incident commenced. Her words: “I suddenly saw the people around 7.00pm on the fateful day. They rushed inside the house and took me out. We went straight into their car and I was taken to the bush. It was from there that I gave my children’s phone number to the young men.
“Initially, they demanded N50million from my children. I started to plead that they should release me, but they refused until my children brought N2.6m. My children went to drop the money at the designated place. Immediately the money was dropped, the boys released me. The following day, as they were about sharing the money, they were arrested by policemen.
“After their arrest, the kidnappers said my nephew Vitus Nneji, asked them to kidnap me. I was shocked over the discovery that he was the one who organised the whole abduction.” One of the suspects, Okechukwu Onyeka, 28, also spoke with the reporter. Said he: “It was Vitus Nneji, who introduced the business to us. He said we should go and kidnap the woman, who is her aunt in the village. We kidnapped her on February 16 and we demanded N50m.”
Onyeka said after negotiations with the family of the victim, the ransom was reduced to N3million.
“They later agreed to bring N2.6m to us along Aladima Road, Owerri. And as soon as we got the money, we released their mother. “It’s not the first time we would be involved in this kind of business. Before now, we had kidnapped several people in Imo, Abia and Anambra states. That is the only thing we have been doing to survive.”
He also explained how they were arrested. “The policemen arrested five of us in my wife’s shop opposite the Imo State University even after we had released the woman. We were arrested as we were sharing the money. “I regret the fact that I was involved in kidnapping the woman. My wife and children are now suffering because I am the breadwinner of the family.”
In another chat with the reporter, Vitus Nneji admitted that he actually brought the men that kidnapped his aunt in the village. He said, however, that he did not participate in the kidnapping. One of the leaders of the community, Mr. Andy Chukwima said the people were shocked over Dr. Ndu’s abduction, noting that it was hard to believe that Nneji was involved in the whole saga.
The state police boss, Ibrahim Maishanu assured that the issue of kidnapping would soon be a thing of the past in the state. He said when Dr Catherine Ndu was kidnapped and the family came to report the incident, he told them to play along with the kidnappers. While expressing delight that the suspects had been arrested and the ransom recovered, Maishanu said the suspects would soon be charged to court.
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