The mastermind and other arrested gang members who abducted Ebikeme Clark, son of Nigeria’s elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, have explained why they abducted their victim.
The kingpin of the kidnap gang, David Emevor, a native of Kiagbodo, who plotted the abduction, confessed to the crime on Monday, April 07, 2014, after being paraded at the Delta state Police Command Headquarters in Asaba.
Emevor said lack of unemployment drove them into the crime and disclosed that they particularly chose the son of the elder statesman because of his inability to provide them with jobs knowing that he had the connection and power to provide them jobs that could earn them a better living.
“Due to the frustration we are passing through, we decided to kidnap the victim to enable us raise some money to establish ourselves in business”.
The kidnap kingpin, who said he was a secondary school drop-out, said that though Chief Clark has attracted some development to the town, giving them jobs to do was paramount to them and since he has not done that and they are suffering, they had no other option than to kidnap the son to raise money to enable them establish.
He however said that they regretted the incident, saying if they had known things would turn out this way they could have abstained from carrying out the crime.
Narrating how they carried out the kidnap, the suspects said, after the abduction was plotted by David Emevor and Joshua Ogofa, they contacted four others now at large, who actually carried out the abduction, while the last suspect provided the vehicle and the guns they used.
David Emevor, the mastermind said he decided to confess when one Chief Opudu Boroh, tricked him and promised to give him N1 million if the victim was released, adding that at that point, he tricked the gang members holding the victim that the ransom demanded had been paid and with police closing in on them, they released the victim and that was how he was arrested and later led detectives to arrest others.
Addressing newsmen, Delta State Police Commissioner, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, said six of the kidnappers were arrested in conjunction with personnel from Delta Waterways Security Committee headed by Hon Boroh and the victim successfully released from captivity.
He said the conspiracy was crippled with the arrest of the mastermind and other accomplices.
Aduba gave the names of those in police net as Joshua Ogofa, the mastermind, David Emevor, who plotted the kidnap; Bosin Kevwe, who provided vehicle for the operation; Sylvester Dio, who provided the speed boat; Pius Arhavwaren who also provided motorcycle for the job and Prince Meslore, who also participated actively.
The gang members on the run include one Timi, Abel, Ndamaw, surnames unknown and one Jacob Aloba, adding that the suspects also confessed that they were behind the kidnap of one Madam Rose at Udu road in Warri where they collected N1.8m ransom.
