Police exhume body of 56-year-old pastor kidnappers buried in shallow grave

  Police exhume body of 56-year-old pastor kidnappers buried in shallow grave

The Police in Rivers State at the weekend exhumed the remains of a 56-year-old pastor, Friday Olakada, who was killed and buried in a shallow grave by kidnappers.

Olakada, until his tragic death was the General Overseer of God is God Ministry in Agbonchia community in Eleme Local Government Area.

The victim, a father of six, was abducted at Eleme junction on May 14, 2021 and moved to Lorre community in Khana LGA where he was later killed and buried after ten days by the assailants despite collecting ransom from the deceased family.

Speaking at the forest where the victim’s remains were exhumed, Rivers Commissioner of Police, Eboka Friday, said the suspects after receiving a ransom of N500, 000, killed their victim to cover their tracks.

But he said with the help of technology and technical expertise of his men, the culprits were tracked and arrested.

One of the suspects, Prince Oda, 27, said the victim grabbed his hand, prayed for him and pleaded to be released but they insisted on killing and burying his lifeless body in a shallow grave to evade arrest.

Oda said with the assistance of their girlfriend, currently at large and three other accomplices, who had been nabbed by the police, they were able to carry out their evil scheme.

He said: “We carried the man (victim) for motor (in a vehicle) from Eleme junction to a compound here in this place, I and my friends’ Ledum, Boy J whose real name is Goodluck, as for this other guy, I have forgotten his name, but he is here, we are four in number.

“When we brought the man here, he grabbed my hand and prayed and told me to let him go and I started begging Leedum and Boy J to release him and I later left, after a while I returned and removed the shirt of the man, he was wearing a white long sleeve with one jacket, beat him and used a brick to hit him and tied his hands because my friends told me that the man recognised them and if we didn’t kill him, he would expose us.”

Another suspect, 33, Lenye, said they lured the victim to where he was murdered because they wanted to steal and sell his car.

He said: “Goodluck my friend told me that someone needed a Sienna car, and I asked how and he told me that the person wanted to buy it and pay us money. He told me that he had a Sienna in mind and that he had discussed already with the owner.

 Leedum would bring a girl that would join me to hire the Sienna and bring him here to pick some property here in Lorre community, while he (Goodluck) and Prince would come here with a bike (motorcycle).

 

“I didn’t know this place, so he directed that I come here with the girl and we would meet them in the community. After we got here, the man’s car was taken to Onitsha”.

The immediate younger brother of the victim, Woko Olakada, said he became worried after the wife of the victim called him on the phone and told him that his husband was yet to return to the house.

He said: “On the 14th of May, the wife of my brother called and said that his husband had not returned to the house and I said that maybe he went somewhere and they caught him and held him down.

“We are all feeling very bad about this incident and we know that the government knows what to do in this incident. I commend the entire Rivers Police Command, especially the Anti-Kidnapping unit for what they have done so far by tracing the kidnappers.”