Driver Masterminds The Kidnap And Murder Of His Employer

The FCT Command of the Department of State Services has arrested four suspected kidnappers over the alleged kidnap and murder of a woman at Gwagwalada area in the FCT.

Briefing newsmen on the arrest on Tuesday, Mr Ibrahim Halilu, the Assistant Director in charge of Operations at the command, named the victim as Mrs Edith Chunedu.

Halilu said that the late Chinedu, a proprietress of Chelson Group of Schools and Chief Executive Officer of Grants Micro Finance Bank, was kidnapped at her residence in Gwagwalada on June 29.

“They (suspects) murdered and buried her in a bush after Yangoji village along Kwali-Lokoja expressway two hours later for recognising one of them,” he said.

Halilu said that the suspects admitted that they committed the crime and had agreed to lead operatives of the command to where they buried the woman for the corpse to be exhumed.

He added one of the arrested suspects was the driver to the deceased.

“On 30th June, 2014, the kidnappers contacted her relations and demanded N5m for her release.

“On July 6, 2014, the sum of N2m converted to $11,500 was dropped for the kidnappers around Obajana road, Lokoja, Kogi, by the relations without informing the service.

“Consequently, the service initiated measures which led to the arrest of the four kidnappers,” he said.

In an interview with newsmen, one of the suspects admitted that they kidnapped the woman, but did not have intention of killing her.

“We kidnapped her but we never had the intention of killing, we kidnapped her because the driver said we should kidnap her.

“She (victim) slumped on the way to where we were taking her, so when we called the driver, the driver said that there is no need hence she has seen our faces.

“It is better she should go (die) instead of coming back home to come and meet him again, that is what led to the whole thing,” the suspect alleged.

He said the woman was strangled to death.

The suspect said that two of them got a share of N500,000 each of the ransom, while the driver received N200,000.

He said other suspects and another at large were yet to get their share before they were arrested.

On his part, the driver suspect said that he was lured into kidnapping her employer by the other suspects.