Operatives attached to the Inspector General of Police, Intelligence Response Team(IRT) have arrested a 22 year old man for alleged kidnapping
The suspect identified as Gift Tasie is said to be one of the suspected kidnappers who sometimes in April 2020, invaded the home of Rivers State Magistrate(names withheld) at Rumuagholu area of the State and abducted his daughter.
The suspect according to the police is also a member of the Icelander cult group alongside four others currently at large allegedly robbed the family before dragging their daughter to their hideout. However, their captive was said to have miraculously escaped from her abductors while they were still negotiating with her family.
According to our police source, the IRT team based at its Annex office in the State tracked the suspect to his home and still on the trail of other suspects.
Recounting the horrifying incident, the Magistrate told the police that about four armed men entered his home through the roof at about 3am. Three of them who were armed with guns ordered him and his entire family to lie faced down.
They blindfolded them and tied their hands and legs together. They then took time to raid the house of every available valuables including phones , money, jewelries , electronic devices, cloths and shoes.
According to the Magistrate, the invaders spent more than an hours searching for valuables before packing all they got inside one of his cars and abducted his 25 year old daughter.
They also withdrew N100,000 from his abducted daughter’s account using her ATM card.
On the second day, they contacted him and demanded N10million as ransom. They started negotiating and the kidnappers who refused to accept the amount often switch off with a promise to call back the next day. Luckily , his daughter escaped and ran back home.
Describing her escape as miraculous, the Magistrate said " My daughter was on her monthly menstrual cycle at the time she was kidnapped. She cried begging her abductor to help her get relief over the pain she was experiencing which they offered to buy her a bottle of Chelsea hot drink.
One of the kidnappers volunteered to go to town and buy it and when he wasted a lot of time, the second person decided to go and check on her.
The only one left to guard her after waiting for another 30 minutes also decided to quickly check on the others. On sensing that she was alone in the forest, she started screaming and when no one heard her. She started praying, shouting the name Jesus and promised herself that if after shouting the name Jesus about 100 times, she will try to escape
After some minutes , she untied herself and started running back to the road, where a good samaritan gave her transport fare back home"
She told her father that she was held at Rukpokwu forest in Obi Akpor Local government.
On his alleged role , the suspect Tasie who is a native of Emohua local government of Rivers State said his responsibility on the day of the attack was just to watch the area while the other gang members entered the house. “ I am an orphan, so I dropped out of school as soon my parents died. It was because I needed to survive that made me to join a bad gang led by one Ihekazi Igwe. He started by initiating me into their cult group known as Icelander.
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 where already on ground with their guns. We drove to the house and I was only given a matchet to hold and watch out for vigilante boys. After about an hour, they drove out with another car and inside the car was girl. When we got to ,the bush, they shared all the valuables that was gotten and I was given N10,000 and a wrapper. I was asked to go home because I live with my sister and if she does not see me in more 24 hours she could raise an alarm.
“ When I called them the next day, they told me that they asked the family to pay N4million. I was waiting to be called to collect my share when Ihekazi called and said that she escaped. It was Ihekazi who assured us that he has surveyed the house and we can easily. I wanted to use my share to start a business.I am sorry, it was poverty that led me to crime,” he pleaded".
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