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Suspected kidnapper admits killing victim to cover up crime in Edo

A suspected kidnapper and murderer, Goodluck Ogeah, has claimed that his gang killed their victim, Smart Nwashiri, a 29-year-old man, in Ologbo, a suburban community in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area in Edo State, to cover up their crime.

Ogeah, who claimed to be a motor mechanic, said his gang conspired and collected N200,000 from the victim before hacking him to death.

Ogeah was paraded in Benin City by the police before journalists, along with four other suspects in the crime.

He confessed that his gang specialises in removing catalysts from unsuspecting car owners’ vehicles and selling them to the now-deceased victim, Smart Nwashiri.

According to him, “The man (victim) used to ask us if we had catalysts, and he would buy them anytime we had them. So, one day in 2022, a mechanic who removed his customer’s catalyst was caught, and he confessed that he sold it to Smart.

“But Smart went ahead and implicated me in the mob beating him when I was not involved. After that incident, he apologised, and we started doing business together.

“One day, I called him to say that I had a catalyst for sale. He came to Ologbo to pick it up, and that was how we kidnapped him.

“But after he paid the N200,000 ransom, I remembered the 2022 incident. I stabbed him with a knife so that he would not go and report.”

The State Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, said the victim was lured on June 17, 2024, by the gang leader to a location in the Ologbo area, where the other gang members were waiting. Funsho stated that the victim had been a serial receiver of stolen catalysts and other stolen items from the suspects.

The CP added, “Based on sustained technical investigation, the five suspects were tracked as far as Delta State, and they were arrested.”

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