A Delta State resident, Chika Friday, tells BIODUN BUSARI how his younger brother, Liberty, was killed in the den of his herbalist friend, who allegedly kidnapped him at Owa-Alidima in the Ika North-East Local Government Area

You lost your brother under strange circumstances. How did it happen?

Liberty was my younger brother, the fourth child in our family, while I am the firstborn.

It happened on September 30, 2025. One of my younger brothers, who lives in Enugu, called our parents to say he had received a strange phone call from someone claiming to be a kidnapper. The caller said they had abducted Liberty.

They handed the phone to Liberty, and my brother heard him crying. He couldn?t say much before his abductor snatched the phone and demanded N20m as ransom. We learnt that Liberty was kidnapped by a herbalist and his elder brother, along with the commercial motorcyclist who took him there. The abductor demanded N10m for each of them.

Do you mean a motorcyclist took him to the herbalist?

Yes. They were not kidnapped at gunpoint or stopped on the road. The herbalist was probably a friend of my brother. Liberty was only 22 years old, and the herbalist was about 23. The herbalist called my brother that morning, asking him to come over immediately. So, Liberty got a motorcyclist to take him there. When they arrived, the herbalist abducted both of them.

How did you know he received a call from the herbalist?

Liberty?s girlfriend, Abigail, told me everything. She said he received the call on September 30, and because his phone was on speaker, she could hear the entire conversation. She was ill that day and resting beside him. According to her, the herbalist told Liberty to come to his house immediately and instructed him to come alone.

How was the herbalist?s elder brother involved?

The herbalist confessed after his arrest that his elder brother was the one who needed money and had asked him to find people they could kidnap for ransom. He said they had already killed Liberty and the motorcyclist on October 1.

What happened after the kidnappers made their demand?

After that call on September 30, the kidnappers continued to call my father directly. We only discovered their true identities after their arrest.

By October 5, I had taken over communication with them. They insisted on the N20m ransom. I asked to speak with Liberty to confirm he was still alive, but they refused, insisting that we send the money first.

They even sent us the account details of a popular fintech company where the ransom should be paid into.

I refused to make any payment without proof of life. I wanted to hear my brother?s voice. My brother in Enugu told me he had only heard Liberty?s voice briefly during that first call.

Why did they kill them?

According to the herbalist, both victims were blindfolded, but Liberty?s blindfold fell off at some point. His elder brother then insisted they should kill them since their identities had been exposed. The herbalist said he initially hesitated, but his brother insisted, so he went ahead and killed both Liberty and the okada rider.

Did Liberty have any spiritual problems that made him befriend a herbalist?

No, not at all. Liberty didn?t have any spiritual or personal problems that I knew of. What shocked me most was that the herbalist was around his age, just a year older. That?s why I believe they must have been friends. It seems Liberty had been visiting him before that tragic day.

Was your brother living alone?

Yes. My brother was a plumber and had only moved to Umunede six months ago, precisely during this year?s Easter celebration.

How did you locate the herbalist?s place?

I asked my brother?s girlfriend if she knew where he had gone, and that was when she narrated how he received a phone call on the day he went missing. I wasn?t around at the time, but when I returned, I questioned her late at night to get full details about the call.

A few days later, we contacted Liberty?s closest friend, who was always with him. The friend told me he had earlier asked the herbalist if Liberty had visited him, since Liberty had mentioned that he was going to see him that day. The herbalist denied it, unaware that the friend and I were already in contact.

When he denied knowing Liberty?s whereabouts, I became suspicious. I kept communicating with him, pretending to believe his story. Eventually, he sent me his girlfriend?s account number, and I began transferring money into that account, not letting him know that I was also gathering information through Liberty?s friend.

Through these exchanges, I got at least three different phone numbers connected to him. The account he sent was linked to a fintech company, making it easier for us to track him through the numbers.

Why were you sending money to him when you had not spoken to your brother?

At first, he told me to send N10,000 if I wanted to know whether Liberty was still alive. I did because I was desperate for information. He kept demanding money every two days, saying it would help him ?check? on my brother. I didn?t have a choice, so I kept sending N10,000 every other day.

Later, he demanded N400,000 to perform a charm that would make Liberty return home after 21 days. I sent N120,000, promising to pay the balance once Liberty came back. I only did this to play along, hoping it would help me find my brother.

How was he arrested by the police?

He was arrested on Thursday, October 24, 2025. I told him that the next payment would be in cash and that I wanted to deliver it myself. He agreed. That was the day before his arrest.

After that conversation, I informed the police. They began tracking him. I shared every detail of our chat with the Area Commander at Agbor, Owa-Alidima, and together we planned the operation.

When we got to his compound, the herbalist refused to come out. He told me to give the money to his mother, claiming she knew the ingredients to buy for the charm. We argued for a while, and when I refused, he asked me to transfer the money instead. I left and informed the policemen who were stationed nearby.

Later that night, I transferred another N120,000 to convince him I was serious. The following day, we returned, and the police arrested him in his den.

Did you meet him and his elder brother?

No, his elder brother was not there. I learnt he travelled to Warri after they killed my brother and the motorcyclist. While in Warri, he reportedly threatened to pour acid on someone, which led to his arrest.

When the herbalist was questioned, he confirmed that his brother was already in police custody in Warri. The police then contacted the Divisional Police Officer in charge of that station, and arrangements were made to bring him down for further investigation.

How much did you send to him in total?

Altogether, I sent about N300,000. I also paid N550,000 to the police, excluding the expenses incurred for tracking and other logistics. The expenses ran into millions of naira.

What about the family of the commercial motorcyclist who took Liberty to the herbalist?

The family came to collect his body.

How did the herbalist kill them?

According to his confession, they first gave their victims a substance that weakened them. Afterwards, they used cutlasses and sticks to hit them until they died. (Sunday PUNCH, excluding headline)

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