Justice for slain priest in Imo

The Nigeria Police last week lived up to its bidding in the case involving the kidnap and killing of Rev. Fr. Cyriacus Onunkwo, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Orlu, Imo State.

Rev. Fr. Onunkwo, who hailed from Osina in Ideato North Local Government Area of the state, had returned to Nigeria to arrange for the burial of his father when he fell into the hands of the men of the underworld who abducted him in the evening of September 1 at the popular Banana Junction in Amaifeke, Orlu Local Government Area of the state. He was later found dead on Saturday, September 2, in Omuma, Oru East Local Government Area of the state.

Following the incident, the police in Imo had declared a full-scale investigation to unravel the mystery behind the priest’s death.

Governor Rochas Okorocha, in a press statement issued by Sam Onwuemeodo, his chief press secretary, on Tuesday described the murder of Fr. Onunkwo as “senseless and wicked”, promising that the kidnappers would have to pay for their evil act.

The governor also directed the state Commissioner of Police, Chris Okey Ezike, to leave no stone unturned in tracking those behind the abduction and killing of the priest.

Earlier, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris had also ordered the Commissioner of Police to fish out and apprehend those behind the killing of Rev. Fr. Onunkwo.

CP Ezike, during his separate visits to Archbishop Anthony Obinna of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri and Bishop Augustine Ukwuoma of the Catholic Diocese of Orluon Monday, had said the IGP was saddened by the development and had ordered his command and the IGP Technical Intelligence Unit to apprehend the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

“The Inspector-General of Police is pained by this sad development. He has therefore asked the Technical Intelligence Unit to assist the command in bringing the culprits to book. A post-mortem on the corpse is most desirable because there was no machete cut on his body. The crime is very unusual. His car was not taken away. I have asked my men to bring every hypothesis on the table,” Ezike said.

Also speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, Ezike, who described the incident as “inhuman and aberration” to human existence, had pledged the command’s determination to apprehend the murderers of Rev. Fr. Onunkwo, saying the police had begun investigations which would eventually unmask the culprits.

“How can anybody think of kidnapping or murdering a priest who is ordained to serve God? I am very optimistic that we will soon apprehend the culprits and bring them to book; this is my assurance to the Imo State government, the family of the victim and the general public,” he said.

He therefore appealed to members of the public to partner with the police to ensure that those who had a hand in the death of the cleric were brought to justice.

Two days later, on Thursday, the Police Commissioner paraded the suspected kidnappers and killers before newsmen in Owerri, the Imo State capital. Sadly, the leader of the gang was a 32-year-old ex-police corporal, Jude Madu.

Ex-Corporal Madu was paraded alongside Izuchukwu Okafor, 28, from Ukwukwa in Azia, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State; Cyril Onyema, 29, from Okwelle in Imo State; Emmanuel Ozuigbo, 29, from Ezeagu in Enugu State; Victor Ikechukwu, 33, from Obowo in Imo State; and Ifechukwu Nwosu, 28, also from Azia, Anambra State.

Commissioner of Police Ezike said the operations that led to the arrest of the kidnappers cut across three states of Imo, Anambra and Rivers, adding that the late priest’s telephone and wristwatch were recovered from two out of the six suspects.

Narrating how it all began, the CP said operatives of the command had around 8:35pm on September 1 received a security report that four gunmen drove with speed in a Toyota Avalon car, double-crossing a priest, and later stopped him, dispossessed him of his car and whisked him to an unknown destination.

“They drove the late priest’s car, Toyota Corolla car with Registration No IMO KED 290 AA. The police subsequently declared a search on September 2. The DPO of Omuma reported that an unidentified corpse of a man was seen in his area of jurisdiction and took it to the mortuary. The body was later identified as that of the kidnapped priest,” Ezike said.

“The investigation took my team to Imo, Rivers and Anambra states for five days. From the evidence available, Rev. Fr. Onunkwo was abducted, tied up, his mouth cello-taped and dumped in the booth of the Avalon car by the daredevil hoodlums. The deceased apparently gasped for air but could not make it. This interim finding is yet to be supported with scientific examination and opinion, which further investigations intend to explore,” he said.

Izuchukwu Okafor, one of the alleged killers, told the police that the operation was organised by ex-Corporal Madu and that he did not know the priest would die. CP Ezike confirmed that the ex-corporal “was a member of the armed robbery/kidnapping syndicate and took part in the operation”. The police boss said Madu confessed to the crime.

Okafor, popularly known as ‘Small’, said he was apprehended on September 6 at Presidential Hotels, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while Cyril Onyema was caught same day at Control Post, Owerri. Onyema, who holds a National Diploma in Public Administration from Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, disclosed that he drove the Avalon saloon car numbered ETU 368 AA with which the crime was committed. Ex-Corporal Madu, who also holds a National Diploma from Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, was arrested on September 5 at Control Post in Owerri in possession of the deceased’s phone.

Okafor, while he and his gang members were being paraded at the Imo State police headquarters on Thursday, told the police that he did not know their victim was a priest.

“We covered the nose of the Catholic priest, that was why he died. We saw him on the road and we did not know he was a Reverend Father and we kidnapped him. I was not the owner of the vehicle used in kidnapping the Catholic priest. I was not the person who led the gang, it was a policeman,” said Okafor.

“When we got to the junction, he asked us to stop in the front of the Catholic priest’s Toyota Corolla, and he asked the priest to come down and that he was under arrest. I want to tell you that it was Jude Madu that requested that I should get a car and that we were going to somewhere. He did not tell me where we were going,” he said.

Nigerians in their numbers have continued to react to the arrest of the suspects. Many lauded the police for doing their job diligently for once, urging them to keep up the good work. Some, however, said the police may have responded promptly because of the personality involved, appealing that the same promptness should be applied to other such cases no matter who is involved. After all, every Nigerian deserves justice.

But some others said they hoped that the paraded suspects are the real culprits. They argued that there have been cases where the police, in a bid to be seen to be doing their job, have paraded innocent citizens as suspected criminals. They, therefore, called on the police to be thorough in their investigation on the matter before reaching conclusions.

Clerics harp on need for job creation

Meanwhile, during his visits to Archbishop Obinna in Owerri and Bishop Ukwuoma in Orlu, the two religious leaders regretted that the youths had made crime an occupation. They appealed to the government to create job opportunities for the youths, saying that it would reduce social maladies.

CHUKS OLUIGBO