Abia: Notorious kidnapper Kingsley Ogbonna busted, victim freed

By Leonard Okachie

A notorious kidnap suspect identified as Kingsley Ogbonna, has been arrested by operatives of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) over his involvement in the abduction of a man for which his gang demanded ransom of N100 million.

However, the kidnap victim was rescued after five days in the custody of Ogbonna after his arrest following information from members of the public about his activities.

Commandant Abia State Command of NSCDC, Mr. Paul Igwebuike, who disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday did not reveal the name of the kidnapped person for security reason.

Igwebunike said his men were on routine patrol when they received distress calls from a reliable informant about the kidnap kingpin who is from native of Edda in Afikpo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi, was arrested by the command’s Special Force on July 2, for his alleged involvement in the June 29 kidnap.

The commandant said that the victim was kidnapped at the gate of his house in Aba, while waiting for his gateman to open the gate for him and was whisked away in his car.

He further disclosed that after moving him to a safe place, they demanded a N100 million ransom from his relatives.

According to him, the suspects fired shots at the point of kidnap, which attracted the attention of security operatives in the area.

Igwebuike said that although the hoodlums later reduced the ransom to N10 million, “our joy is that the victim was successfully released without ransom”.

He said that he had since been reunited with his family.

“From our preliminary investigations and confessional statements, the suspect is a member of a cruel four-member kidnap gang believed to have been behind many high profile kidnap cases in the state.

“We are working closely with relevant security agencies to bring them to justice,” he said.

He said that the suspect was already facing prosecutione and would face capital punishment in line with the extant laws of the land, if convicted.

The state NSCDC boss said the command recovered one AK 47 assault rifle, one magazine, 21 rounds of live ammunition and a cutlass.

Others were seven ATM cards, bearing different names and belonging to different commercial banks.

Meanwhile, the command has issued a fresh warning to those that hide under the guise of metal scrap business to vandalise, steal or sale critical national assets and infrastructure.

The commandant advised them to desist from the nefarious activities or face the full wrath of the law.

He commended the Commandant of the Nigerian Navy College of Account and Finance Owerrinta, Capt. S. K. Ogogo, who recently handed over two suspects to the corps.

Igwebuike said that the suspects, Amanze Agwutu, 38, and Chukwudi Nwadike, 31, were arrested in two Hummer buses, while conveying rail infrastructure suspected to have been vandalised in Isuikwuato area of the state.

He said that the buses were loaded with 42 and 38 lengths of rail tracks.

The commandant further said that the outcome of the command’s preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects, who claimed to be commercial bus drivers, were hired by a notorious vandal.

He said that the vandal had been in the business of removing railway slippers in the South-East.

Igwebuike also said that the suspects had successfully delivered the rail tracks to some scrap metal dumpsites in some locations in Aba through the help of the vandal.

“Let me place it on record that the corps is not after genuine scrap dealers in the state but the vandals in their midst,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suspects, who were paraded alongside their buses, fully loaded with the rail tracks, told newsmen that they were commercial bus drivers hired to convey the items.

They said that they did not know that the rail tracks were vandalised, adding that the person who hired them claimed to be a soldier and accompanied them on the trip.

The suspect was also arrested by the Navy and taken to a location in Osisioma LGA for further investigation.

(NAN)