Two suspected kidnappers have been remanded in prison by a Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital over a failed attempt to abduct a staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC identified as Tamuno Igbikiberesima.
Igbikiberebima, who works with the legal department of the corporation had on December 17th 2020 dispossessed the suspects identified as Godspower Saturday and David Simeon.
The duo were wielding an AK47 assault rifle when they came to abduct Igbikiberebima at his residence in Rumuigbo, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
The duo were charged by the police on a seven-count bordering on armed robbery, attempted abduction.
Chief Magistrate, Beauty Okere, after listening to the prosecution team and the defendants, declined jurisdiction on the matter and referred the matter to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.
She ordered that the suspects be remanded in prison pending DPP’s advice.
The victim, Igbikiberebima told newsmen that he overpowered the suspects because he noticed the obvious unprofessional way they held the rifle while attempting to abduct him.
Igbikiberebima said he noticed that the kidnappers were amateurs and summoned encouraged to take them on.
He added that in the scuffle that ensued, the duo were subdued, and they immediately abandoned him and took to their heels before they were pursued and apprehended neighbors and passersby.
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“I was making a call in front of my gate on December 17, 2020, when a black Toyota Camry suddenly pulled over with two occupants, and they ordered me to enter the vehicle. One of them came out with an AK-47 rifle and ordered me to enter the back seat. When he asked me to enter, I said ‘why should I enter’? He said he would kill me. I begged him not to do that, and asked him what I had done,” he narrated.
“When I noticed how he was handling the gun, it appeared to me that he is not proficient in gun handling. I told myself that ‘ordinarily, one-on- one, this guy cannot beat me.’ That was the courage I had. When he faced the nozzle of the rifle down trying to cock the gun, I started struggling with him. In the process, both of us shot one bullet on the ground. When he saw a crowd coming, he left the rifle, and ran into the car, and they took off”, he stated.
“I then ran into my compound and brought out my Toyota Hilux, and some people outside my gate joined me to give them a hot chase. We overtook them at Apara Link Road, got them arrested, and handed them over to the police”,
