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Police Recover Decomposing Body Of Kidnapped NNPC Staff
The detectives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team, Borokiri, Rivers State, have recovered the decomposing corpse of late senior staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), late Mr. John Iheanacho, who was allegedly abducted last April, and murdered by suspected kidnappers in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commander of the IGP Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari, who led the team to exhumed the corpse of the late Iheanacho, which was buried in a shallow grave by his captors at a forest near a river boundary between Oyigbo and Abia State.
Abba, who gave the names of the arrested suspects as Samuel Ikechukwu Alexander, ‘popularly called Pillar”, Chima Mark, Stephen Iniobong and Teddy Ifeanyi, added that the alleged suspects collected ransom in Dollars from the late victim before killing him.
According to him, the arrested suspects were members of four criminal gangs from Abia, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states, who he said abducted two other female victims alongside the late NNPC senior staff.
Kyari, said that the late Iheanacho paid N1.5million each to secure their release before luck ran out of them and they were apprehended.
It was learnt that the late victim, also the president of Eastern Zone of Investment Cooperative Society Limited, died in the hands of his abductors due to the gunshot wound he sustained from them before he was taken to an uncompleted building in Ndoki, Oyigbo LGA where he died after some days of captivity.
Our Correspondent, who was in the IGP Intelligence Response Team to the Operation, reports that two among the arrested four suspects led the police to the place where the victim was buried in a shallow grave, adding that the remains of the decomposing body of the NNPC senior staff was later deposited at a mortuary for further investigations.
Also speaking to journalists, the Paramount Ruler of Omuoshi in Ndoki community in Oyigbo, Eze Friday Oscar expressed happiness on the arrest of the alleged kidnappers and murderers of late Iheanacho whose death, according to him, almost put the community in bad light.
He used the opportunity to call on other traditional rulers in the state to assist the security agencies in the fight against criminality which would reduce crime in the state, even as he commended the IGP’s men for the arrest of the suspects.
The Rivers State Government has inaugurated a Central Planning Committee to organize the celebration of the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day (AFRD) in the State.
The committee was formally inaugurated by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Benibo Anabraba in Port Harcourt, last Thursday.
Dr Anabraba who also serves as Chairman of the Committee
highlighted the State Government’s deep appreciation for the sacrifices of Nigeria’s fallen heroes who laid down their lives for the nation’s peace and unity.
“These heroes have given their lives for the security and peace of our nation and deserve to be celebrated. The Armed Forces Remembrance Day is an opportunity to show our gratitude for their sacrifice,” he said.
Dr. Anabraba further extended recognition to all Security Agencies in the State, emphasizing the importance of the event in appreciating their contributions to national security and sovereignty.
The annual Armed Forces Remembrance Day, observed on January 15 across the country is dedicated to remember Nigeria’s departed soldiers and honouring the nation’s veterans.
