IN EDO STATE...........Photo: Guard’s son, others plan kidnap attempt on Benin-based Professor, demand N7.5m ransom

The Edo state police command have arrested three persons for allegedly conniving to kidnap and kill one Joshua Aiseku Unuigboje, a Professor Emeritus, if he failed to pay an equivalent of N7.5 million into a Turkish bank account.

Parading the suspects before newsmen today, the state commissioner of police, Babatunde Kokumo, gave the names of the suspects as 23-year-old man, Adamu Aminu; Tamuno Diepriye Samuel (19) and Ovie Raymond (21).

According to the police boss, Aminu, who hailed from Kaduna State, was to have come to Sabongida Ora with his parents as a young boy, and lived in the house of the Professor who employed his father as as security guard.

He said the Professor was responsible for the education of Aminu till he graduated from secondary school, after which he left to somewhere in Port Harcourt, where he met members of his kidnap gang and planned the dastardly act.

“These are those who have made an attempt to kindap Professor Emeritus, Joshua Ubuigboje from Saboginda-Ora. They have demanded for an equivalent sum of N7.5m from the Emeritus Professor. They have equally directed the professor to pay the equivalent sum of N7.5 million into a Turkish bank account made available for that purpose. It will interest members of the public to know that Aminu’s father remains a security man in the Professor’s house. 

Aminu was taken to the Professor’s house when he was a baby and the Professor has been taken the responsibility of sending Aminu to school and even when he was thrown out of school, at a point, the professor still looked for another school. For being untrainable, he was thrown out of school in Saboginda-Ora but the Professor? felt he could still be reformed and for that reason, he got another school for Aminu but behold, Aminu who thereafter turned kidnapper, has arranged with his members of his criminal gang in Rivers State to kidnap the Professor,” Kokumo said.

When interrogated, Aminu blamed the devil for his evil act.

“It is the work of the devil and I am not a kidnapper. All what I said to him was just a mere threat and I did not mean it. I am harmless. I came up with the idea of the kidnapping myself and I decided to involve my friend, Prince Diepriye Samuel. I told the Professor of his present condition of him being crowned a king in Saboginda-Ora and that many persons are against him.

So I said to myself if we can come up with some ideas as to try to convince him that we are working with his opponent to stop him from being crowned unless he pays? us the money we have asked for. The Professor Emeritus was a good man to me. He has never punished or tortured me but I was not that comfortable living with him. He was a nice man to me but my parents were poor and I was not able to raise money to further my education after my secondary education. That was why the idea came into my mind,” he said.

On his part, Samuel, said he only helped Aminu to send the text message to the Professor?, while Raymond said he helped to procure the Turkish bank account from another of his friend for use in the operation.