FEATURE ARTICLE

Justin OkongwuThursday, July 21, 2016
[email protected]
Onitsha, Nigeria

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AN OPEN APPEAL TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, MR. IBRAHIM IDRIS

Late Mr. Emmanuel C. Udemba (center) with his twin youngest children.

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Mr. Ibrahim K. Idris CFR, NPOM, mni
The Inspector General of Police
Force Headquarters
Louis Edet House
Shehu Shagari Way
Centra Area, Abuja

Ref: CB.7000/IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOL.104/556
Ref: CB.7000/IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOL.171/571

Dear Mr. Idris,

An Unresolved Kidnap and Murder Case - Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba

e hope and pray that this letter finds you in good health. Please accept both our congratulations and resolve to approach your nascent administration with our relentless appeal on behalf of the widow and children of Late Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba in Anambra state. The sad news over the kidnap and murder of Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba is no longer new but remains fresh in our memories. It remains fresh because of the protracted and calculated reluctance of the police to honestly investigate this criminal case. Many Nigerians have waited since 2012 for the result of the investigations but unfortunately nothing has happened. Sir, it is very sad and disappointing. It remains shocking to his widow, children, townsmen and other Nigerians of goodwill. Sir, we are renewing our petition to you because for some "hidden reasons", the kidnap and murder incident of late Mr. Udemba was never honestly investigated by the Nigerian police. We are renewing our appeal because of the level of psychological, emotional and physical suffering of his surviving widow and children from the day Mr. Udemba was kidnapped till this very day. We are renewing our appeal because we believe that with the new police administration under your watch, this puzzle would be solved and everybody will eventually find peace and closure. The widow and children of Late Mr. Udemba are demanding justice over the kidnap and murder of their husband and father. Sir, what is most frustrating about this particular criminal case is the apparent cover-ups, delay-tactics, signs of sharp practices and compromises for which unfortunately some of the members of the police force could be reasonably indicted.

Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba was kidnapped on March 21, 2012 at the Nkwelle-Ezunaka axis, Anambra state, Nigeria. From then up till the end of the outgone administration nothing serious and transparent, if at all any, was done by the law enforcement agents to honestly investigate Mr. Udemba's kidnap and murder. With the advent of this new administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, the new Commissioner of Police in Anambra state; precisely on July 10, 2015, alerted Mr. Udemba's widow and children that his corpse had been found in a local mortuary. Sir, this happened out of the blue. The question is: Why such a "sudden discovery" despite longstanding reports, publications, outcries, repeated visits to police stations both in and out of Anambra state since 2012? Of course, such an egregious and insidious tactic is far from achieving any meaningful closure until the masterminds and sponsors of this heinous crime are apprehended, exposed and finally prosecuted. Whoever owns that mortuary could easily lead good investigators to the depth of the truth; either willingly or persuadably. At this time, we are appealing to you, Mr. Idris, to order a totally independent investigation into the kidnap and murder of Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba.

Meanwhile, we continue to be grateful for this present administration under President Buhari while we most respectfully request that the Nigeria's Federal Police Department; this time around, puts more and sincere interest in this outrageously unresolved kidnap and murder case of a good citizen of Nigeria. We believe that the sponsors and masterminds of Udemba's kidnap and his undeserving murder have, undoubtedly and unfortunately, miscalculated. Private investigations reveal that they are now freely and gleefully moving around unperturbed here in Anambra state while the widow of Mr. Udemba and her children are still living in perpetual fear and agony. Yes, they have not relented in their hidden schemes; aimed at locally intimidating people who made Mr. Udemba's burial and funeral possible. But why should a thing like this happen in our country? Sir, leaving this type of atrocity continuously shrouded in 'mystery' without an honest and transparent investigation poses grievous danger to the lives and property of the family that late Mr. Udemba left behind. We are calling on you, Mr. Idris, to order a totally renewed, independent and transparent investigation into the kidnap and murder of Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba. Indeed, a lot of surprising things will certainly be disclosed if this criminal investigation is carefully and honestly carried out.

Sir, we strongly believe that any criminal conspiracy that impelled a group of ill-minded people to allegedly hire kidnappers in order to eliminate either their fellow Nigerian, fellow business man, relation or townsman so as to finally make it appear like a kidnap-for-ransom issue is, hopefully, no longer tolerable in this country. We hope that that it has lost its previously comfortable habitation in Nigeria under the watch of the current administration. We are, therefore, calling upon you, sir, to order a totally independent and honest investigation into the kidnap and murder of Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba.

Again, hiring local kidnappers to abduct and murder a good man who had no-known enemy nor belonged to any political party is blood-curdling and does not get anyone anywhere in Nigeria. In fact, it is merely an ill wind that blows nobody any good and has to be nipped in the bud. What wrong has Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba, a peaceful man, a good man and non-competitive businessman, done to anyone or any group of individuals to merit this type of odious treatment? The enduring suspicion that remnant protégés of some past ill-reputed commissioners and deputy commissioners of police in Anambra state, who cared less to investigate the kidnap and murder of Mr. Udemba, were indeed those who; all of a sudden, found his corpse after a mentally brutal three-year of misleading his unsuspecting family, should be seriously probed. Of course, any claim that Mr. Udemba's corpse had been dumped at the Otuocha mortuary since March 24, 2012 without the knowledge of those officers' is preposterous. We are calling on you, sir, to order a totally independent and transparent investigation into the kidnap and murder of Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba so that Nigerians will know what happened to Mr. Udemba and all those behind it.

Even though a few of the police officers mentioned in this case have been recently retired, meaningful, aggressive and transparent investigations, still ought to kick-start in earnest, to fish out the masterminds and their real sponsors. Helpful suggestions and essential questions are as follows: Who was (were) the person(s) who first found the corpse of Mr. Udemba? Where was it first found? To whom was it reported when it was found? If the corpse of Mr. Udemba was truly found since March 24, 2012, as claimed, then why was such sad news concealed from his family members, relations and the public for over three years until July 10, 2015? What could explain such a potentially deceptive claim? If these were reported to the police in Anambra state since March 24, 2012, then why did the police let the widow and children of Mr. Udemba suffer undeserving mental anguish all these years? Who had been paying the mortuary bill on Mr. Udemba corpse; the government, an individual or a group of individuals? Any serious and sincerely dedicated law enforcement agents should have made some arrests that would have rapidly led committed investigators to the evil sponsors and masterminds of Mr. Udemba's kidnap and gruesome murder. We continue to put our hope and trust in the Nigerian Police Force under your leadership. We are confident that you can now step in to solve this puzzle once and for all.

While we continue to applaud the commitment of so many men and women in the Nigerian Police Force who risk their lives every day to protect lives and property in our nation, we wish to declare that sweeping reports; afloat the internet and in some of our local newspapers, indicate that the following police officers should have been summoned to a special investigative and interrogation panel with a view to ascertaining what they knew, know or did not know about the kidnap and murder of Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba. A good result might naturally be expected when those interrogations are done individually and separately with each one of those officers. The law enforcement agents at issue here include Mr. Ballah Nasarawa, Mr. Dibal Paul Yakadi, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, Mr. James Nwafor (SARS) and Mr. Alexander Okeiyi (DSS). All of these law enforcement agents either functioned or are still functioning in Anambra State as at or from March 21, 2012 when Mr. Udemba was kidnapped. The family is not primarily interested in the allegedly compromised police officers but in the sponsors and masterminds of the kidnap and murder of their family member and bread winner. We are hereby appealing to you, Mr. Idris, to order a totally independent and transparent investigation into the kidnap and murder of Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Udemba.

It is our opinion that the above-mentioned law enforcement agents should not be let off the hook with regard to any conceivable investigation kinks on the kidnap and murder of Mr. Emmanuel Udemba simply because they were and are in Anambra state during and after the kidnap of Mr. Udemba. They need to be thoroughly investigated regarding what each and every one of them knew and still knows about this serious matter. Moreover, a barrage of reports, articles and comments on the internet raises repeated questions about the sincere collaboration and cooperation of the police in relation to this particular kidnap investigation process. Kindly help all of us to regain our trust and hope, once again, in the Nigerian police.

Suffice it to maintain that the way Mr. Udemba was kidnapped and murdered in cold blood is totally unacceptable to his wife, children, friends, well-wishers and all of us. We all want to know who kidnapped and murdered their husband and father and most importantly their sponsors. Sir, you need to know how much the widow, children and good relations of late Mr. Udemba have agonized as well as been frustrated, mistreated and humiliated from 2012 onwards; both by some unprofessional law enforcement agents and above all by some unscrupulous elements who have remained under the suspicion radar as potential sponsors of the kidnap and murder of Mr. Udemba. This strong observation should be sufficient to prompt the Nigerian Police Force, under your capable oversight, to conduct an independent, truthful, proper and transparent investigation into the kidnap and murder of an ordinary and good citizen of Nigeria. We most respectfully plead that you kindly address this issue once and for all. We count on your ability and professionalism to bring it to a desirable end.

Faithfully Yours,
Mr. Justin C.O. Okongwu
Submitted on behalf of the Supporters and Sympathizers
of the E.C. Udemba Family, Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria.

CC: President Federal Republic of Nigeria
Attorney General and Minister for Justice
Senate Committee on Police Affairs
Relevant Human Rights Organizations

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