Patrick the Kidnapper
By Chiemelie Ezeobi
Man's inhumanity to man was recently enacted at the Ikotun area of Lagos State when one Onyeka Patrick sold his soul to the devil by strangling the 7-year-old son of his neighbour to death and still went ahead to demand for the sum of N5million from the deceased's parents.
The deceased was said to have strolled into Patrick's compound to play on January 12, when he was abducted and strangled within minutes. From the suspect's interaction with this reporter it was gathered that the boy had unsuspectingly answered his call as he was a familiar face in the neighbourhood.
For a man the deceased called uncle, nothing was farther from the boy's mind than the fact that the same neighbour would be his death. It was gathered that while he was being strangled, he had looked into the suspect's eyes and pleadingly begged for his life with his eyes but Patrick was probably far steeped into his act to care.
He was said to have put the corpse in a sack and went to the uncompleted building next door to deposit it in an empty soak-away pit where it was left untouched until he confessed to his crime. The gory pictures of the boy's remains showed just a fragment of skin on his skull as rodents and insects had chopped off a greater part of it.
It was gathered that even when the boy's parents were weeping pitifully at the disappearance of their son, Patrick had wept the loudest, a pure case of crying more than the bereaved. When asked by his neighbours why he wept that copiously, he had explained that the boy was so dear to his heart and could not understand who would kidnap such a lovely boy.
It was gathered that the chain of events that led to his arrest was when his elder brother recognised his handwriting from the ransom note which was placed at the deceased's parents door. The suspect had written a ransom note demanding for N5million from the deceased's parents thereby giving them the impression that he was still alive even though he was killed within the hour he was kidnapped.
Accompanying the ransom note was the suspect's phone number with which he demanded that they contact him. However, his bubble was burst when his elder brother recognised the handwriting and queried him. He denied the act severally. Having been caught, he was said to have pulled down the note as well as disposed the SIM card of the phone to avoid detention. But his elder brother went to call in the police at Ikotun Division.
Despite interrogations, he maintained his innocence until he was moved to the state Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, where under intense interrogation he crumpled and confessed to the said act. He then took the operatives of SARS to where he dumped the body.
When paraded before newsmen yesterday at the state Police Command in Ikeja yesterday, the suspect could not give concrete reasons for his actions rather said his actions was the spur of the moment decision. He however squarely blamed the devil and greed for his inhumane act. Speaking to this reporter he narrated the chain of events that led to Ayuba's death.
He said, "I didn't plan to kill him. The thought came into me all of a sudden when he strolled into my compound. I was just sitting down when he came. As the thought came into me, I didn't pause to think but jumped at him. I took him to the backyard where I used my hands to strangle him to death.
"When I was strangling him, he did not shout or put up a fuss because he thought I was playing with him. By the time it had started paining him, he couldn't shout again because I had closed his wind pipes but his eyes spoke to me."
He added, "It was the devil. I used to be a glass fabricator and a footballer. I don't know what got into me that fateful day. I also don't know what made me demand a ransom. But I had intended to use the money to start life all over again. I was arrested because my brother recognised my hand writing and called in the police."
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the suspect only confessed to his crime when he was transferred to the SARS, Ikeja.
She said, "On January 17, at about 9pm, the Divisional Police Officer, Ikotun Division transferred the suspect to SARS for further investigation for the alleged kidnapping and killing of the victim. Upon further interrogation, Patrick confessed to have kidnapped and strangulated the boy on January 12 and concealed his body in a sack at his residence.
"He later took the body of the deceased child and hid it inside an empty soak-away pit of an uncompleted building in the same neighbourhood. Not done with his nefarious act, he wrote a letter to the father of the victim demanding a ransom of N5million before the victim would be released.
"He gave them the impression that the boy was still alive even though he was strangled minutes after his was abducted. He also included the phone number with which he could be reached.''
She added that upon confession, the suspect led SARS operatives to recover the decomposed body of the victim from the pit. The body has since been deposited at the Isolo General Hospital Mortuary for autopsy. Braide said the suspect would soon be charged to court for murder since all aspects of the investigation has been covered.
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