A 35-year-old ex-convict, Onyekachi Alozie and his wife, Oluchi, have been arrested by Imo State Police Command for kidnapping, murdering, and burning the corpse of a 71-year-old man, Chief Precious Okorie.

Parading the suspects, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hussain Rabiu disclosed that the deceased was kidnapped on November 12, 2021.

Rabiu said that he ordered the commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Oladimeji Oyeyiyewa, and his operatives to swing into action after the family members reported the case.

This led to the arrest of the gang leader, Agubata Maxwell Chimezie known as“the boss” on December 10, 2021. While Oluchi was arrested on December 20, her husband was picked up on January 10, 2022 in Owerri.

Alozie, who was said to have allegedly masterminded the kidnapping and murder of Okorie, took the police operatives to the forest where they saw the burnt body of the deceased.

The Police said that the operatives recovered the late Okorie’s car, a Toyota Camry from the workshop of an auto painter where the gang leader went to repaint and later sold it for N1million.

“They blindfolded Okorie, took him to their den in the forest where they collected his Toyota car and ATM card and withdrew N3.5 million from his account,”Oyeyiyewa said

Upon interrogation, Alozie confessed to the alleged kidnapping of the Chief after his wife told him she was having a sexual affair with him.

“I’m an electrician by profession but went into armed robbery and kidnapping. I was at the Nigeria Correction Centre twice for kidnapping cases. I was detained at the Nigeria Correction Centre after I was arrested and prosecuted by DSS operatives in 2018 but discharged by an Nkwerre High Court and released from prison in 2021.

“When I was at the Nigeria Correction Centre, my wife Oluchi was visiting me and bringing food. I did not suspect her with late Chief Okorie. She only told me Okorie was a Good Samaritan. Then one day, I overheard their conversation on phone, where Okorie was saying he was eager to see my wife. I was angry and forced my wife to call the deceased to see her in the hotel.

“My wife confessed to me that she’s been having a sexual relationship with the 71-year-old man in the hotel.

“I threatened to kill my wife, and so she called him back and told him to wait for her in the hotel. I then arranged for him to be kidnapped. My gang leader, Agubata Chimezie a.k.a “the boss” kidnapped Chief Okorie in his car and took him to the forest. I demanded a ransom of N20million but the family members paid only N1.5m as ransom,” he said.

He confessed that he was given N290,000 from the proceeds of the car sales but has no knowledge of how the gang members killed late Chief Okorie and burnt his dead body.

“It was some of our gang members who did the job. They did not give me any share from the N1.5m ransom collected from the deceased’s family members, they promised to give me my share the second time that they were demanding another ransom from the deceased’s family member,” the suspect confessed.