Detectives attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Lagos Command, have arrested the killer of Reverend Father Cyriacus Onunkwo, a Catholic priest serving in Imo State.
The suspect, identified as Raphael Ndukwe, was tracked down to his hideout in the Ajangbadi area of Ojo, a suburb of the Lagos metropolis, based on a tip-off.
Reverend Father Onunkwo was kidnapped in Imo State by gunmen on Friday, September 1, 2017 from his car and taken to Omumma, in the Oru East local government area of Imo State where his body was found the next day. Eko Trust gathered that the priest was returning home to organise the funeral of his late father when he was abducted.
A police source disclosed that Ndukwe, whom he described as leader of a kidnapping gang that had been terrorising Imo State for many months, escaped to Lagos after four of his members were arrested in the state. The source also alleged that Ndukwe’s gang was responsible for the kidnap of one Gloria Emordi who was said to have visited Imo State for a burial ceremony on April 22, 2017. The gang also allegedly snatched Emodi’s Toyota Venza sport utility vehicle.
The source said that on arrival in Lagos, the suspect, nicknamed Tiger by his friends and who the police in Imo State had declared wanted for the murder of Reverend Father Onunkwo, settled down with some of his friends who operate as thugs at the Alaba International Market, Ojo, but later fled to Ajangbadi, an interior community bordering Ojo, when the heat on him became hot.
But the police in Lagos finally tracked down the 29-year-old suspect and arrested him on September 10, 2017 in Lagos by crack detectives, led by Chief Superintendent of Police Mohammed Sanusi after a painstaking undercover investigation.
It was learnt that the suspect on noticing that he was being trailed attempted to bolt but the operatives were too quick for him.
Soon after Ndukwe’s arrest, he was taken to the Command Headquarters where he confessed to some of the crimes he committed both in Lagos and the South-East. Our source said the suspect told the police that this was not the first time he would be escaping to Lagos after engaging in a criminal operation.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olarinde Famous-Cole, confirmed the arrest but would not give further details.
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