Precious Okoro
The victim’s
father, Nwaigwe, explained that Precious was kidnapped around Songotedo, in the
Ajah area of Lagos State, where she had boarded a commercial vehicle to her
school in Ikenne, Ogun State.
He said he
never knew his daughter had been abducted until two weeks later when the school
management contacted him to say Precious had not reported in school.
He explained
that he reported the matter to the police at the Ajah Police Division, where he
was asked to exercise patience. He said the cops initially thought she fled to
a boyfriend’s house.
Nwaigwe, a
trader, said he was later contacted by the kidnappers, who informed him that
his daughter was in Niamey, the Niger Republic capital.
He said, “My
daughter, who was on holiday, was returning to her school in Ikenne Communty
College, Ikene, Ogun State. On Sunday, May 25, 2014, she boarded a bus at the
motor park in my presence and I bid her farewell.
“I thought
she was already in school until the principal called me and said the school was
about writing exams and nobody knew her whereabouts.
“I quickly
informed the police at Ajah, and the Divisional Police Officer told me to be
calm and wait because it was possible she went to a boyfriend’s house and they
probably wanted to fleece me.
“One fateful
morning in August, I saw an international line and the kidnappers said they
were calling from Niamey in the Niger Republic, adding that if I wanted to see
my daughter alive, I should pay them $100,000.”
The Ohaozara,
Ebonyi State indigene said he did not take the callers serious, until he heard
the distressed voice of his daughter, who told him they were indeed in Niger
Republic and that the bus she boarded that day was owned by the kidnappers.
The victim’s
father said he began to receive repeated calls from the kidnappers, who later
asked him to deposit an initial sum of $30,000.
He said, “I
told them to send me an account number, and they sent an Ecobank account number
belonging to one Nwachukwu Daniel. I did not have the money they requested and
I contacted the police for help, but I was asked to still exercise patience.
“After some
weeks, they called again and I asked for another account number. They sent a
Diamond Bank account number.
“They were
using different international lines to call. They used about 15 different
numbers to call us,” he added.
The police
later decided to use a decoy to get some of the kidnappers arrested.
A police
source said one of the female officers disguised as a girlfriend of one of the
kidnappers and called one of the international lines.
After a few
weeks of telephone conversations, the kidnapper-lover invited his lady to Niger
Republic.
He said, “He
sent someone to bring her and detectives trailed her and monitored their calls.
They were able to arrest a suspect, who, however, denied knowing anything about
the kidnapping, but said he sometimes overheard the victim’s father conversing
with the ‘lover’.”
The matter
was said to have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department,
Yaba, when there was no further breakthrough in the case.
Our
correspondent gathered that the police decided to work on the three account
numbers sent to the victim’s family. And
so far the investigations has led police to three different states in the country.
He said, “It
was discovered that one of the account numbers was opened at Idumota, Lagos
State, and when the police got there, they were told the owner was in Niger
Republic.
“Another
account number led the police to Onitsha, Anambra State, and when they
investigated, they discovered that the owner had earlier been arrested by the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Onitsha and had been killed. The N200, 000 the
victim’s father paid into the account was stuck because the suspect did not
collect it before he died.”
Our
correspondent was told that the police, however, arrested a sister of the
suspect living in Aba, Abia State, who had been collecting money paid into a
Diamond Bank account number opened in the state.
The girl was
said to have admitted that the account belonged to her brother, who was sending
money into it and giving her instructions on how the funds should be
distributed among the family members.
A source said
the girl had been arrested with two other suspects.
The victim’s
father, Nwaigwe, said the matter had been referred to the Federal Criminal
Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos.
It was learnt
that the police had not been able to do anything due to lack of funds.
“The police
have gone far on this case and needed funds to get those rogues arrested. There
is still hope of getting the girl safe home,” a source said.
The Police
Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, said he would call back, but had yet
to do so as of the time of filing this report.
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