A 22-year-old has been arrested for his role in the kidnap of the daughter of a magistrate in Rumuagholu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government of Rivers State.
The kidnap which occurred sometime in April at the magistrate’s home was carried out by a five-men gang young men four of whom are still at large.
The gang, upon invasion of the Magistrate’s home robbed them and abducted his daughter but she later escaped from her kidnappers.
The suspect identified as Gift Tasie, was one of the hoodlums that attacked the home of the magistrate at Rumuagholu, abducted his daughter and then demanded N10m ransom.
He told investigators from the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), that his role on the day of the incident was to act as a lookout while others stormed the magistrate’s apartment
The suspect who said he is an orphan said he took to crime because he needed to survive, adding that he dropped out of school after his parents’ death.
According to him: “It was because I needed to survive that made me join the gang led by Ihekazi Igwe. He initiated me into the Icelander cult group. On the day of the incident, I joined them at an agreed location at Omagwa. When I got there, Ihekazi, Ibuchi, Bright and Sampson Aaron were already on the ground with their guns. We drove to the house. I was given a machete and instructed to watch out for vigilante boys. After about an hour, they drove out with another car and inside the car was the magistrate’s daughter.
“When we got to the bush, they shared all the valuables stolen from the house. I was given N10,000 and a wrapper. I was asked to go home because I live with my sister, and if she doesn’t see me in more than 24 hours, she could raise the alarm.
“When I called them the next day, they told me that they asked the family to pay N4 million. I was waiting to be called to collect my share when Ihekazi called to say that the lady had escaped. I wanted to use my share to start a business. I am sorry, it was poverty that led me to crime.”
