A callous gang of brothers, the Emmanuels, have been arrested by the Nigerian police, after they gruesomely killed a 55 year-old woman, buried her in a tank and then demanded ransom for the body.
The brothers, born by same parents, were arrested by police operatives attached to the Intelligence Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force.
They were identified as Johnson Emmanuel, 38; Gideon Emmanuel, 31 and Success Emmanuel, 27years old.
According to the police, the three men kidnapped and killed Janet Nnenna Ogbonnaya, a widow and mother of five children in Abuja.
They were arrested in their home town of Isiekenesi, Ideato LGA of Imo State, where they had taken refuge from the long hands of the law.
Investigations that led to the arrest of the suspects was sequel to complaints received from one of the children of the woman, Chinedu.
He told the police that his mother, from Ozuitem in Bende LGA of Abia State had been kidnapped and a 5-Million naira ransom demanded before she could be released.
A comprehensive and painstaking investigation by the police operatives resulted in the arrest of the three suspects.
Then they made the confession that Janet had long been murdered and buried.
Further findings revealed that Janet, a Facebook friend of the principal suspect – Johnson Emmanuel, was lured from her home in Gwagwalada to visit the suspect.
The suspect thereafter took advantage of the visit, served her yoghurt laced with drugs and subsequently had her murdered.
The suspect having killed the victim and buried her remains in a septic tank, went ahead to reach out to the family of the victim using her phone and demanded 5-Million naira ransom as pre-condition for her release.
Police said the suspects led a team of investigators alongside pathologists to a residence at Wumba District, Lokogoma, Abuja where the victim’s decomposing body was exhumed from a septic tank.
The exhumed body has been taken to the University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja for forensic examination, the police said.
A Toyota Highlander Jeep belonging to the deceased has also been recovered by Police operatives at a mechanic workshop in Apo where it had been repainted into a different colour.
The vehicle documents had also been fraudulently changed and ownership of the stolen vehicle transferred to Johnson Emmanuel, the mastermind of the crime.
Investigations also revealed that the house where the deceased was killed and buried originally belonged to one of the suspects.
The house was hurriedly sold-off to a third party apparently to obliterate evidence.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, commended the operatives for cracking the case.
He also gave an assurance that perpetrators of any form of crimes in the country will not go undetected and unpunished.
He however enjoined citizens to be more security conscious and report any suspicious activities within their neighbourhood to the nearest police station.
