SUSPECTED KIDNAPPER OF CATHOLIC AUXILIARY BISHOP OF OWERRI IN POLICE NET

Reporter : CHINAZO ILECHUKWU

The Imo State Police Command has arrested three persons for allegedly kidnapping the Auxiliary Bishop of Owerri Catholic Archdiocese, the Most Reverend Moses Chikwe and his driver Mr. Ndubuisi Robert in December 2021.

Parading the suspects at the Police headquarters in Owerri, the Command’s Public Relations Officer Mr. Orlando Ikeokwu, said the young men who hailed from Awara in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of the state were apprehended following investigation by the anti-kidnapping team and Quick Intervention Unit of the command.

Mr. Ikeokwu said the suspects had demanded ransom of ten million naira from the church but were forced to release the Bishop from captivity four days after following intense pressure from the force. 

One of the kidnap suspects, Osinachi Ngozi, said he was lured into abducting the bishop by his brother.

Mr. Ikeokwu also paraded a young man, Micheal Ogbonna, for attempting to burn down the family residence of a renowned late jurist, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa in Oguta, Imo State.

He said the suspect who is a university graduate told police that his action was to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the frustration he was facing as a result of unemployment.

In an interview, the suspect, Micheal Ogbonna, attributed his action to spiritual manipulation.

The Auxiliary Bishop of Owerri Catholic Archdiocese alongside his driver were abducted in Owerri on December 27, 2020 but later regained freedom on January 1, 2021 after public outcry and protests by the church.