Suspects of Imo Catholic priest murder confess

The police in Imo state yesterday paraded five suspected abductors and killers of a priest, Cyriacus Onunkwo, in the state. 

According to Linaikejisblog, one of the suspects is a police officer. The clergyman was abducted on Friday, September 1st in Orlu and his body was later discovered along the road in Omuma on Saturday, September 2nd.

One of the suspects that were paraded said the clergyman was killed in error. According to him, “When we kidnapped the priest, we used cellotape to seal his mouth, unknown to us, his nose was also sealed. When we discovered that he could no longer talk, we unsealed his mouth and found out that he has died".

Vanguard further reported that a 28-year-old man, Mr. Izuchukwu Okafor, popularly known as small, from Ukwukwa village in Azia of Anambra state, Thursday, said that he and other of his gang members did not plan to murder Reverend. Father Cyriacus Onunkwo.

He made this statement when six of them were paraded alongside other suspects on different offences, at the Imo state police headquarters.

Accoring to Vanguard, Okafor claimed that he was second in command and that a policeman, Ex Corporal, Jude Madu, organized the operation. Speaking to Vanguard, he said: “I don’t know he will die. We covered the nose of the catholic priest that was why died. We saw him on the road and we did not know he was a Reverend Father and we kidnapped him. I was not the owner of the vehicle used in kidnapping the Catholic priest.

 “I was not the person who led the gang, it was a policeman. When we got to the junction, he asked us to stop in the front of the Catholic priest Toyota Corrola, and he asked the priest to come down and that he was under arrest. “I want to tell you that it was Jude Madu that requested that I should get a car and that we were going to somewhere. He did not tell me where we were going.”

The police say investigations is still ongoing and that the suspects would soon be charged to court.