Three suspected members of a kidnap gang that allegedly killed an Abia State businessman have been arrested by officers of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligent Response Team.
The businessman, Jacob Ukwa, was reportedly killed in the Ogbor Hill area of the state.
Punch reports that the suspects comprised an ex-official of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Chinedu Agwu, aka, General, who was released from prison in February 2021 after serving five years for a criminal offence.
The other two assailants were identified as Nnadozie Monday who is a welder, and a tricycle rider, Godwin Uche.
Their arrest was a result of a directive from the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, to the Abia State Commissioner of Police and the Commander-in-Charge of IRT to go after the killers of the businessman.
Police investigations showed that Agwu’s gang was so dreaded that some residents of Ogbor Hill were afraid to report them to the police.
The suspects have reportedly confessed to the killing of the businessman and also claimed responsibility for other criminal activities in Abia State.
Members of the gang reportedly told the police that they killed their victim after an attempt to kidnap him failed.
One of the suspects, Nnadozie, while narrating how Ukwa was killed said, “We ride around in a tricycle and look around for flashy cars. Sometime in July, we were on patrol when we sighted him driving a flashy car and we trailed him.
“He noticed that we were following him and he drove quickly to his house. He jumped out of the vehicle with his two phones. One of us, nicknamed UC, shot him. I was still in the tricycle but I could hear others blaming UC for the shooting and we escaped from the scene.”
The IRT Commander, Tunji Disu, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, confirmed the arrest of the suspects.a