investigating the circumstances surrounding
the kidnap and murder of a 20-year-old
undergraduate, identified as John Chinedu
Okere, who until his death was a 300 level
Electrical Engineering student at Covenant
University, Otta in Ogun State.
According to reports, Chinedu left his parent's
house in the morning of Wednesday, August 6,
2014, to a Hospital in Yaba, Lagos for medical
reasons and never returned. He reportedly left
home with about N6000 and that was the last
time he was seen alive.
The mysterious disappearance of Chinedu,
caused a stir as the parents ran helter-skelter,
in search of him to no avail. They gathered
from some family members that one of his
friends called on phone earlier that morning to
tell him to meet him at an undisclosed hotel.
KIDNAP
Crime Guard learnt that at about mid-day,the
victim's father, Jude Okere, received an SMS
notifying him that Chinedu had been
kidnapped. Later, he received a phone call from
a hidden number demanding N10 million
ransom for the release of his son. The caller
allegedly threatened to kill the victim if the
parents refused to comply as the line went
dead.
FATHER'S TESTIMONY
Chinedu's father said: " At about mid-day, I
received an SMS that John had been
kidnapped. Later, I received a phone call from
a hidden number. The
caller said they had my son, Chinedu and
demanded N10 million as ransom threatening
to kill him if we refuse to comply. Immediately,
I inquired who the caller was, the line went
dead. My wife and I quickly reported the case to
the Divisional Police Station at Sabo, Yaba."
After the case was reported to the Police at
Sabo, Yaba, it was later transferred to the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja the
next day where investigations commenced.
DEAD BODY IN A HOTEL ROOM
It was learnt that initially when the whole
issue started, the family of the victim felt it was
a kidnap that would just be resolved but
unfortunately, as events continued to unfold, it
turned out to be a premeditated murder.
Shockingly, the decomposing corpse of
Chinedu was discovered in one of the rooms at
'DE Homes Hotel' located in Ejigbo by one of
their staff, two days later.
According to reports, the Manager of the hotel
went to Ejigbo Divisional Police Station on
Friday, 8, 2014, to report the case of murder
and investigation began.
HOW SUSPECTS CHECKED INTO HOTEL
A reliable source in the hotel intimated that
early on Wednesday morning, the prime
suspect, Okorocha Michael along with another
young man simply identified as Okey,checked
into the hotel with the name Christian. "He
booked the room for three days with the name
Christian. He claimed he is a youth corps
member who wanted to write exams and would
be there from that Wednesday to Friday. He
also said he was expecting his cousin to join
him in the hotel.
'After booking, Michael left his friend Okey in
the hotel and returned an hour before the
victim, Chinedu arrived the hotel, which was at
about 3pm that day. As soon as Chinedu
arrived the hotel, Michael took him to the
room. We don't know what happened inside
the room. However, it was later gathered that
during their stay in the room, the suspect
reportedly confronted the victim on some
personal issues. The confrontation eventually
led to a heated argument, which later led to the
suspect strangulating the victim to death. On
Friday, a hotel st
ARREST OF SUSEPCTS
Crime Guard learnt the 24-year-old suspect,
Okorocha Michael, who was arrested on
Sunday, in a friend's house around Ajah area
in Lagos, is a graduate of Lagos City
Polytechnic, Ikeja. He has been unemployed
since he completed his youth service in
February this year.
APPEAL FOR JUSTICE
A family member who spoke on the condition
of anonymity revealed that the Okere's were
willing to pay the ransom, and were still trying
to get it when his corpse was discovered. 'We
sincerely pray that law takes it full course, his
killers brought to book and Chinedu will get
the justice he deserves even in death,' the
source stated.
aff discovered the lifeless body of the young
man and alerted the police.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in comments are
those of the comment writers alone and does not
reflect or represent the views of Somayina.
No comments:
Post a Comment