. Arrest businessman, phone seller, driver
The saga over the gruesome death of Cynthia Osokogu has continued, with the arrest of two other prime suspects.
The police also recovered Osunkogu’s white Blackberry Bold 5 (9900) from a businessman in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, who allegedly bought the stolen phone from her killers.
The police identified the suspects as Nonso Ezike, a younger brother of Chidera Ezike, one of the suspects paraded and arraigned by the police over Osokogu’s death.
Nonso is a graduate of Mathematics and Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
Nonso is also said to be a second hand phone dealer at Ladipo Market, Lagos.
He is said to be the receiver and seller of all the phones stolen by the Internet fraudsters.
After his arrest, Nonso said he sold Osokogu’s phone for N68,000 after he bought it from his bother Chidera for N42,000.
Nonso said in a statement to the police: “Chidera is my blood bother.
“I am a dealer in London used second phones.
“It was Chidera who sold the phone to me.
“He said the phone belongs to our cousin, Okwumo.
“I later sold the phone to a man in Port Harcourt for N68,000.”
The other suspect was identified by the police as Gideon Okechukwu, the driver of the gang.
The suspects were arrested by policemen attached to the Area E Police Command in Festac Town, led by the Area Commander, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Dan Okoro.
Okoro said electronic policing led to the arrest of the suspect.
Confirming the arrests, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, said: “In continuation of our investigation, we arrested two men and recovered Cynthia’s blackberry phone.
“Investigation is still ongoing to arrest others.”
Narrating how the police arrested the suspects, Okoro said: “During the investigation, I told late Cynthia’s father to give me the pin of her blackberry phone.
“I got the pin and started chatting with the number.
“During the course of our chatting, I got to know that the person with the phone is at Port harcourt.
“I told him I needed the phone and he told me he bought it from Lagos and the phone was sent to him via courier and he was willing to return it to the person who sold it to him.
“He said he would like to get his money for the phone back and I told him there is no problem.”
Continuing, ACP Okoro stated that the phone was returned to Nonso, who later brought it to the police station in company with his lawyer.
Okoro added: “On September 3, two men came to my office with a white Bold 5 9900 blackberry phone.
“Immediately I told my men to detain them and they were interrogated.
“So that was how we got to know that Nonso is a brother of one of the suspects, Chidera Ezike, that we arraigned.”
The police also arrested Okechukwu, 39, said to be the driver of the suspects.
The police alleged that Okechukwu was also arrested through intelligence policing.
CP Manko said: “Okechukwu is believed to be the man who conveys the suspects to all their destinations.
“He is helping us with our investigation.”
The police also recovered a black Compaq 610 laptop belonging to Echezona Nwabufor Okwuomo, one of the suspects arraigned.
The laptop is said to contain over 50 nude photographs of female victims who have fallen prey to the Internet sex ring.
Some of the photographs showed pretty ladies tied with rope and their mouths covered with cellotape with dangerous objects inserted in their vigina.
Osokogu’s naked photographs also showed bites and wounds inflicted all over her body.
Manko said the police will not relent until all the suspects involved in the case were arrested.
He warned phone users to desist from buying stolen phones.
Manko said: “What this people do is that after stealing these phones, they will flash the phones and remove all the details of the owners of the phone.
“That is what they did with Cynthia’s phone.
“But we got her pin, which cannot be destroyed.
“So people should be wary of the phones they buy as this can be stolen property.
“The suspects will be arraigned in court soon.”