A 21-year-old suspected kidnapper over the murder of a Jambite, Thomson Omokhafe Adams, 17, has said they killed him because he recognised one of them.
Tony Ekwane Oghanetega, 21, and Elijah Emmanuel, 23, were among 118 suspected criminals arrested by the Lagos Police Command in the last two weeks for sundry offences.
According to the suspect, they lured and killed the victim while he was returning from writing the just concluded Just Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) examination in Ikorodu.
Oghanetega, who claimed to be a music producer, said his associate had complained that the teenage victim had identified him and could lead his parents back to the place he was held hostage if allowed to stay alive.
The suspects had chained the teenager, used a nail-infested wood and a cutlass to hit, strangled him, and forced his body into a sack, which they disposed of in a remote bush.
In his confessional statement, Oghenetega said the victim was invited to his apartment by his associate, whom he described as a friend of the deceased.
He claimed the pair had earlier planned the attack and prepared weapons, chains, padlocks, and a large travel bag before the victim arrived.
The suspect alleged that after the victim was lured to his apartment, he was chained while videos and photographs were taken of him.
“My accomplice later insisted the victim should not be released because he knew our identities and family members. We subsequently strangled the victim to death inside my apartment.
“After we discovered that the victim had died, we placed the body inside a ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ bag and transported it on a motorcycle to a secluded area where it was dumped in a bush,” he told detectives.
Oghenetiga said they carried microphones and music equipment along with them to make it appear they were going for a regular job, and not raise suspicion.
After disposing of the body, he said he contacted his father the next morning and demanded transportation in order to return to his parents’ home.
Giving details of the arrest, the Police Commissioner, CP Fatai Tijani, said operatives of the command acted on credible intelligence following a missing-person complaint filed at the Ajah Division, Area J, Command.
He said the suspects were apprehended around 10 pm on April 27 at the Lucky Fibre Area in Ikorodu, Lagos.
CP Tijani added that preliminary investigation linked the suspects to the kidnap and murder of a female victim last November after collecting N300, 000 ransom.
