The Department of State Services has apprehended six kidnappers of Chief Nitabai Inengite, an uncle to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Inengite was abducted at Otuoke community in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in February, 2014.
The kidnappers, who were paraded at the DSS headquarters in Abuja on Thursday include a 400-level undergraduate of the University of Jos, Plateau State, Eldred Jonah,30; Raphael Inengesi, 32; Ibeabuchi Inya,29; Oreva Abridi 29; Tammy Agbai,29; and a native medico, Felix Onuoh,48.
The Accommodation withal paraded another set of kidnappers that were involved in the abduction of two sisters, Ejura and Unekwu Opaluwa at Karmo, Abuja on June 8, 2014.
The suspects are Oyemire Asagba, 29, aka Paul/Sky; Sunday Attah,30, aka Shyne; the armourer, Zacheus Salami,30, aka ‘D’; Victor Bassey,32; the driver, Sani Mohammed,23;, and Aragba Ademo,33, aka IT/Topson.
Others are Ojo Gambo,22; Haruna Asama,38; Dikko Iko, 22; and Mohammed Adamu,20, aka Mikifi/Abu.
The DSS Deputy Director, Public Relations, Marilyn Ogar, explicated that Jonah masterminded the abduction of the President’s uncle and provided the take-off grant of N40,000 for arms procurement and other logistics.
According to her, the suspect confessed that he carried out surveillance on Inengite and that the gang had two teams for the operation, comprising the land team composed of five persons, and the waterside (speedboat) team, composed of three persons.
Ogar verbalized that four pump action rifles were utilized for the operation, integrating that Inengite was whisked away in an ash-coloured Honda SUV to Onuegbu waterside from where he was transferred into a waiting speedboat and taken to the creeks.
She verbalized, “The victim was held captive at two different locations within Bayelsa State in the creek of Brass, very proximate to the ‘mouth’ of the Atlantic Ocean and Okigbene creeks.
“Following a security operation by this accommodation, he was relinquished after 17 days in captivity without payment of ransom. Investigation into the incident eventually led to the apprehend of the six suspects in Bayelsa, Delta and Edo States.”
Ogar verbalized that Agbai, an unemployed graduate of Accounting from the University of Port Harcourt, was the owner of the car that was utilized for the abduction, integrating that the suspect gainsaid involution in the abduct operation, claiming that one of his friends, Jonah, requested the utilization of the car for a burial ceremony, which he obliged him.
In an interview with newsmen, Jonah, who admitted to providing the mazuma and undertaking surveillance for the abduction, claimed that the motivation for the operation was not ransom.
Onuoha, the native medico, explicated that he provided charms and herbal fortification for the abduct gang because he was trepidacious they may harm him and his family if he did not cooperate with them.
He verbalized, “Abridi came with three men and verbalized they optate juju for business prosperity which I did for them. They later verbalized that was not what they wanted, that they wanted to abduct someone and wanted charm for bulwark.
“The moment they verbally expressed that, their faces transmuted and I was trepidacious that if I don’t cooperate with them, they may harm me and my family because I was with my family at the time, so I concurred to avail them and I asked them to pay me 10 per cent of the ransom.”
Ogar withal explicated that the bellwether of the kidnappers of two girls in Abuja, Asagba confessed to the malefaction, integrating that the operation was carried out by him and four other gang members.
She verbally expressed, “Paul had been apprehended antecedently at a military checkpoint at Uke, Keffi LGA, Nasarawa State, while in possession of two Ak-47 rifles, magazines and 87 rounds of live ammunition.
“He was arraigned in court, convicted and sentenced to one and a moiety years in confinement which he accommodated at Keffi Prison in March 2013.
“Upon his relinquishment, he returned to his malefactor activities and confessed that he abducted the two sisters at Life Camp, Abuja and that they amassed N10m afore relinquishing the victims, but they prevaricated to the co-opted members that they received only N6m.”
The DSS verbalized that the gang co-opted Iko, the security sentinel at the victims’ residence who provided information on the kineticism of the Opaluwa family.
The accommodation verbalized that Iko had confided in a kinsman, Ezekiel, that his employer, the father of the abducted girls, kept mazuma at home and it was Ezekiel who promised to introduce him to friends that could purloin the mazuma.
“Dikko was given N3,000 to buy a phone and SIM card for communication with the gang members,” Ogar expounded.
