By News Agency
One of the alleged killers of retired Chief Superintendent of Police, Christian Kpatuma, has been nabbed by men of Imo State Police command.
CSP Kpatuma was killed on Tuesday by a group suspected cultist who whisked him away from his residence at Mgbala community in Agwa, Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, to the bushes where they allegedly killed him and subsequently brought back his corpse to the house.
According to the command’s spokesperson, Michael Abattam, the police on receipt of the information investigated the matter and caught one Deberechi Chukwu, the alleged leader of the suspected cult group that killed the retired police chief.
Abattam said further investigations revealed that Deberechi was one of the escapees from the Owerri Correctional facility that was attacked in April, 2021.
The suspect allegedly formed the cult group which has been terrorizing Agwa community and is alleged to be responsible for the death of some security personnel in the state.
Abattam said, “The suspect, after escaping from the Imo Correctional Centre, recruited young men into his cult group and were terrorizing the Agwa community.
“It is also on record that he was involved in the killings of a lot of security personnel in the state. However, he has made useful statement and have volunteered assisting the police in the arrest of other members of his gang presently on the run.”
Patuma, a lawyer, was said to have returned home from a function around dusk, last Tuesday but unknown to him, he was being trailed by some assailants who killed him.
It was learnt that his killers had waited until it was about 8am before they broke into his home at Mgbala Agwa village, Oguta Local Government Area of Imo state and abducted him.
Abattam, said in a statement on Friday that the suspect in custody is one notorious kidnapper, Deberechi Chukwu.
He said that the suspect who escaped from the Imo Correctional Centre recruited young men into a cult group who were terrorizing the Agwa Community where the late retired CSP was murdered.
Abattam said that Chukwu has volunteered to help the police to apprehend the other suspects are are on the run.
“Sequel to a report of a case of Murder received by the Agwa Divisional Police Headquarters that, on 01/02/2022 at about 2152 hours, a group of young men suspected to be cultist resident in Mgbala Community Agwa in Oguta LGA of Imo State, conspired amongst themselves went to the house of one Christian Kpatuma, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police ( CSP ) and a native of Mgbala, abducted and took him to a nearby bush where they killed him and later carried the corpse back and dump it in front of his compound.
“On receipt of the information, the Commissioner of Police, Imo Command, CP Rabiu Hussaini psc, immediately dispatched the ever active and gallant command’s tactical teams to the Agwa Community with a mandate to fish out the perpetrators of this dastardly act.
“On arrival the teams commenced discreet investigation. And after diligent gathering of both forensic and technical intelligence, one of the suspect, Deberechi Chukwu, the leader of the cult group that killed the retired police officer, CSP Christian Kpatuma was arrested while escaping to a border state .
“In the course of Investigation, it was revealed that, the suspect, Deberechi Chukwu is a notorious kidnapper and an escapee from the Imo Correctional Center Owerri, Imo State.
“The suspect, after escaping from the Imo Correctional Centre, recruited young men into his cult group and were terrorising the Agwa community. It is also, on record that, he was involved in the killings of a lot of security personnel in the state. However, he has made useful statement and have volunteered assisting the police in the arrest of other members of his gang presently, on the run.”
He said that, the Commissioner of Police, Imo Command, CP Rabiu Hussaini has urged his men to intensify efforts to endure the arrest of the other members of the murderous gang.
The CP was said to have called on the Imo people and the vigilante groups to collaborate with the police to apprehend the late CSP’s killers.
Credit | NAN