Odunukwe was a renowned
billionaire from Anambra who was into property development and the owner of
Fireman Generators.
Bob Ibeaji, 42, the kingpin
of a four-man gang that killed Mr Ignatius Odunukwe said on Tuesday that the
lust for money led him to commit the murder.
He was last seen when he
went to seal a land deal with his murderers who posed as real estate buyers
interested in one of his properties.
His lawyers suggested going
with him to sign the papers but he declined, explaining that he also had to
stop by at a club before meeting the land buyers.
His decomposing body was
found on Thursday, January 16, 2020, after his murderers were caught and they
led police to the location where they dumped the body.
However, while speaking to
newsmen during the parade of suspects at the Zone 2 Command, Onikan, in Lagos,
Ibeaji, who claimed to be a medical doctor said, “Unnecessary lust for money
and my greed for immaterial things clouded my judgement and made me commit the
crime.
Narrating how he lured
Odunukwe to his death, Ibeaji said that in 2019, he saw an advert for the sale
of a property at Katampe, Abuja.
He added that he approached
the security who linked him up with the deceased through his cell phone number.
“I told him I was
interested in the property and I think he ( the deceased) had a function in
Abuja at that time so we were able to meet once in the city.
“We later met again at
Atican Beach Resort, Ajah in Lagos State, on Dec. 1, 2019, where we discussed
after which I murdered him with the help of two of my gang members,” he said.
The four-man gang includes
Bob Ibeaji, 42, Solomon Cletus, 30, Arinze Igwe, 26, and Israel Obigaremu, 35.
Ibeaji said that he met
Cletus when he was remanded at Kuje Prison, Abuja and discussed the dealings
with him which he promised to help out with.
“I lured Odunukwe into my
hotel room through N900million business deal I was pretending to go along with.
“With the help of Igwe and
Cletus, I was able to distract him and hit him on the head using the butt of an
axe.
“After then, I injected him
twice with shots from a lethal injection. His body was later cut into pieces
and dumped somewhere at Ogunbo Forest, in Ajah,” he said.
Cletus whom he met at the
prison said that he was lured into the act with the promise of N2 million loan
to be given to him if he would participate in the evil plan.
Ibeaji said that Igwe, who
was a staff member of the resort was the one responsible for navigating the
culprits’ successful exit from the hotel because of his knowledge of its
layout.
However, Israel Obigaremu,
the Uber driver, said that he knew nothing about the evil plan and was
unfortunately involved because he allowed Arinze to park the deceased car in
his compound.
He said that Arinze usually
called him for jobs of transporting his clients that lodged in the hotel and
that was how he met with Ibeaji whom he drove around town.
“Arinze brought the
victim’s car to my compound and told me that the car belonged to his boss who
had travelled and he promised to come pick it up the next day.
“I do not know anything
about the killing. I was home sleeping when Arinze brought the vehicle to be
parked in my compound,” Obigaremu said.
The Assistant
Inspector-General of Police, AIG Ahmed Iliyasu of Zone 2 Command, Onikan, told
journalists during the parade that two similar incidents had been established
against Ibeaji in the past.
“The first was in Bayelsa
State, where one Depologa was murdered and his remains were found along the
Abuja Expressway.
“The second is the case of
Jude Efulue, a property developer in Abuja, whom he held captive in an
apartment and forced him to sign a document transferring the ownership of the
victim’s property to him.
“He almost killed Efulue
but the intervention of Efulue’s neighbour led to Ibeaji’s apprehension by the
police which landed him in Kuje Prison,” the AIG said.
Iliyasu advised the public
to be careful about what they post online and desist from revealing too much
information about themselves on social media.
“There is a sophisticated
dimension that has been introduced into cybercrime and the only way out is to
abstain from flaunting one’s achievements and wealth on the social media,” he
said.
The AIG said that Zone 2
Command which comprises of Lagos State and Ogun had no space for hoodlums to
incubate and hibernate.
He, therefore, warned
criminals to desist from their nefarious activities.
Iliyasu said that the four
suspects would be charged to court and would face the full extent of the law.
The police evacuated the
remains of the deceased into Braingrace Ambulance evacuated so as to give the
deceased a befitting burial.
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