A 37-year-old suspected kidnapper, Goodluck Ujieh, who was arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of 29-year-old Smart Nwashiri, has confessed that they killed their victim to conceal their crime.

Ujieh, the leader of a five-man kidnapping gang, revealed that the killing was also an act of revenge for a past incident involving the victim.

He made the confession while being paraded by the Edo State Police Command. The alleged crime was committed in Ologbo community in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, near Benin City, the state capital.

In an interview with journalists, Ujieh said the deceased had been a regular customer who bought stolen vehicle parts, particularly catalytic converters, from them.

He recounted an Incident where the victim implicated him when they were caught selling a stolen part.

“There was a time the deceased asked a mechanic to remove a catalyst from someone’s vehicle for him to buy, but they were caught after the mechanic had succeeded in selling the part to him. When the people started beating them, he (the buyer) pointed to me as one of the robbers supplying him the parts, and they also descended on me,” Ujieh said.

He added that they were eventually released after replacing the stolen part for N400,000. However, Ujieh held a grudge against Nwashiri and decided to seek revenge.

Ujieh said on the day of the crime, he and his gang lured the victim to Ologbo community under the pretense of selling more items to him.

After getting hold of him, they demanded a ransom of N1.2 million but settled for N200,000. Despite receiving the money, they killed Nwashiri to prevent him from identifying them to the authorities.

“After collecting the money from his account through POS, we slit his throat with a knife and buried him,” Ujieh confessed. (Adapted from a Daily Trust report)

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