Late Tony Eze
The circumstances surrounding the
gruesome murder of Tony Eze, a 39-year-old International businessman based in
Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, have been unravelled by detectives
attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Force Headquarters, Abuja. The late
Eze, from Umuagede village in Nsukka L.G.A. of Enugu State met his untimely
death after a night out with friends, including a kinsman from Eha-Alumonah in
Enugu State (name withheld).
Eyewitness account said he was shot
dead by two young men on a motor bike who closed in on him while he was trying
to avoid a porthole, just a few meters away from the refreshment garden at
Tungama area of Zuba in the outskirts of Abuja. He had gone to the garden for
conviviality with friends. It was learnt that on the fateful day, November 6,
2014, the father of two was about closing for the day’s business when his
kinsman and best friend called to request that they go out for drinks at Zuba.
He was said to have initially hesitated before reluctantly agreeing to be at
the refreshment garden in the evening.
He reportedly left his shop about 5pm
and got to the garden where he met three of his friends already seated and
enjoying drinks. Crime Guard gathered that about 7:20pm, they all set to leave,
moving in a convoy, with his best friend and kinsman driving the car in front.
Eze was the last to join before he was blocked and shot dead inside his car.
After the owner of the garden and
other sympathizers gathered at the scene, his friends reportedly drove back
claiming that they heard a bang at their back but thought that Eze must have
hit something and that was why they continued without him.
Reports said that even after the
arrival of his friends at the scene, no serious efforts were made to either
take him to the hospital or contact the police at Zuba. Policemen arrived the
scene around 11pm and all efforts made to revive Eze in the hospital failed.
One of the doctors was said to have reprimanded his friends for not rushing him
to the nearest hospital immediately they arrived the scene, saying that he
could have survived the gun shots if he had been given immediate medical
attention.
Nevertheless, it was gathered that
police detectives of SARS swung into action after it was noticed that the
police at Zuba were lukewarm over the ugly incident. Police sources said their
efforts were complemented by those of a Lagos-based private detectives hired by
members of the family of the deceased. According to the source: ‘’While we were
combing all the nook and cranny of Abuja for clues, the private detectives were
busy spreading dragnets all over the country and even beyond, where the
deceased had business partners,
“A startling breakthrough came few
weeks back after the private detectives succeeded in arresting a suspect in
possession of the phone of the deceased which was the only item his assailants
disappeared with after the incident. The suspect turned out to be in the same
Aluminium Market where late Eze had his shop. We drilled him for long hours
until he capitulated and started confessing how they killed the innocent young
man.”
According to him, two people came to
engage their services for the job in their cult group. He gave a detailed
description of them and one of the descriptions tallied with that of the late
businessman’s best friend and kinsman who also had business in the same market
with him. The suspect said that when they asked those that came to hire them
why they wanted the man dead, they said he had been importing goods from abroad
and needed to be silenced. They were paid N1.2million, some of them got
N250,000 while others got N300,000 each.”
Giving a vivid account of how they
carried out the operation on the day in question, the suspect said some of them
arrived the restaurant earlier than the deceased and sat by a table near where
he later sat with his best friend who hired them. ‘He said that as soon as they
were ready to go, his friend winked at them at the nearby table and they used
their telephone to flash their colleagues who were positioned outside the area
as a signal that they should proceed to hit their target. He further said they were
told that he would be coming in a car behind. So, his friend quickly drove off
in front with the deceased following behind and when they got to the point
where they had to join the expressway, the friend in front drove faster. As
soon as his friend entered the expressway two of the hired killers blocked the
businessman’s car and one of them just pulled out his gun, approached the
driver’s side and yanked open the door. While Eze was passionately pleading
with them to take whatever they needed and spare his life, the armed man shot
him point blank, picked his phone and sped off.’’
Police sources also hinted that after
the arrest of five of the suspects at the popular Aluminium Market, Abuja, his
best friend confessed during interrogation that the deceased gave him N5million
to exchange for him around October 2014, and he was yet to pay him back before
he was killed. It was learnt that initially, he wanted to be smart by diverting
the attention of detectives to focus their searchlight on one of the brothers to
the deceased but when he learnt that one of the killers had confessed to the
crime, he withdrew his allegation. Sources said detectives were still searching
for the second person that hired the killers together with the best friend to
the deceased and would soon arrest him.
Family sources told Crime Guard that
the arrest of their son’s supposed best friend over his death sent shock waves
all over the community. According to a member of the family who simply
identified himself as Simon( 45) : ‘’ This is the greatest shock we have
received in our area in recent times. That suspect is well known to all of us
as Tony’s best friend. They used to travel together to China on business trips.
In fact, he was closer to our brother than anybody in the family. Whenever we
needed to advise our brother, we usually channelled it through this his friend
who happens to come from Eha-Alumonah Community, a neighbouring town in Nsukka.
Interestingly, this his friend was leading pallbearers during Tony’s burial. He
was the first to arrive our compound before other of his friends and business
partners arrived. He was shedding tears uncontrollably. Even after the burial,
his wife prepared our traditional food for the bereaved family which friends
usually partake in. I can remember vividly that a few days after Tony’s burial,
the suspect told some members of our family that he (the deceased) owed some
business associates a whooping sum of N12 million and there was urgent need to
settle the debt but we swept it aside by telling him that it could come up
after the mourning period. I will use this opportunity to thank the Nigeria
Police Force and the private detectives for the success recorded so far because
these startling confessions and arrests will go a long way to assuage our deep
feeling of loss. (In tears) Now see, for how much did they take the precious
life of this young, amiable, promising and easy-going young man? Who will train
his children and take care of his young wife?
Crime Guard further gathered that
detectives were working on the theory that his best friend was envious of his
progress and the boom in his business and hatched the plan not just to
eliminate him but also to stop him from asking for the whooping N5million he
gave him to change last October. So far, it was learnt that both the suspect
that confessed to the killing and the deceased best friend were taken
separately to the scene of the crime and they pointed out correctly the table
where they sat and the point where Eze was intercepted and killed.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that on
hearing the progress recorded in the case, police authorities have directed
that no stone should be left unturned in rounding up all those remotely or
otherwise connected with the assassination of the young and promising
businessman and they should be charged to court for murder accordingly.
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