The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has handed over Enugu State-based native doctor, Obi Obieze to the Lagos State Police Command after he was arrested on Wednesday at the Gbaji checkpoint along the Badagry-Seme Expressway in an attempt to flee the country.
The suspect, who was brought in by NIS operatives yesterday, was seen wearing a mask and restrained with both hand and leg cuffs during the handover to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, at the Command headquarters.
Selected journalists invited to witness the handover were not permitted to speak with the suspect.
Recall that Obieze had earlier been declared wanted by the Nigeria Police Force for his alleged involvement in kidnapping and ritual killings.
According to findings, Obieze, also known as Obu Onyeka, was attempting to escape to Seme on a commercial Bajaj motorcycle when personnel of the NIS Lagos State Border Patrol Command apprehended him at about 2:00 pm.
Further findings revealed that Obieze, a resident of Umuojor village in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, had earlier escaped arrest and boarded a night bus to Mile 2 in Lagos, arriving around 10:00 am., according to a source.
“The commercial motorcyclist had passed the immigration checkpoint at Gbaji when an officer, recognizing the suspect, ordered the rider to stop.
“Obieze attempted to flee, but officers quickly apprehended him and took him to the command office.
“He was detained in the NIS cell while the Controller of the Lagos State Border Patrol Command contacted NIS headquarters regarding the arrest,” the source disclosed.
Obi Levi Obieze, a known native doctor and resident of Umuojor village in Isiagu Community, Enugu State, was accused of involvement in the kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl earlier this month.
The victim was reportedly abducted by three men while walking to the farm with her father. Nigeria Police operatives later rescued her from a shrine allegedly linked to the suspect.
The Enugu State Police Command on Wednesday also confirmed the arrest of three suspects connected to the abduction. Additionally, two decomposing bodies were discovered hidden in a pit sealed with concrete at the residence of the fleeing native doctor.
The suspects, Uche Kingsley Agumba (33), Ilo Nweze Onyedikachi (36), and Ejike Odinwankpa (38), are currently in police custody. Meanwhile, Obieze, who also goes by the aliases Ezeani and E-Dey-Play-E-Dey-Show, remained at large at the time of the initial investigation.
Police have described him as a well-known traditionalist in Umuojor village, Isiagu community, where the crimes reportedly occurred.
