Operatives of the Zone 5 Police Headquarters, Benin City, have arrested sixsuspects for allegedly conspiring to assassinate one Etionsa Ighodalo of Iyowa community in Ovia North- East local government area of Edo State.
Briefing journalists in Benin at the weekend, spokesman for Zone 5, ASP Emeka Iheanacho gave the names of the suspects as Osahon Iserhienrhien, Monday Idele, Uhunoma Idele, Iyobo Iyamu, Odion Omwamghe and Augustine Igbinovia.
He explained that the principal suspect, Osahon Iserhienrhien, in collaboration with other suspects hired one Osahon Johnson to assassinate Ighodalo.
“The assassins were to carry out the assignment on July 4, 2015, when police operatives under the zone got wind of the plot and arrested the duo of Monday Idele and Uhunoma Idele, whose statements helped in the arrest of the principal suspect, Osahon Iserhienrhien as well as Iyobor Iyamu, Odion Omwanghe and Augustine Igbininovia on July 5, 2015, at the shrine of the native doctor, who they had gone to seek for voodoo and spiritual protection,” he said.
He attributed the remote cause of the sinister plan to power tussle between Mr. Etionsa Ighodalo and the principal suspect over local politics of who would become the youth chairman of Iyowa community.
The police spokesman said that a list containing the names of Etionsa Ighodalo and nine others allegedly targeted for murder by the suspects, was among the items recovered from the shrine of the native doctor.
Also paraded by the police was one Stephen Enakhare Oshioma, suspected to be a notorious fraudster, who specialized in forging and faking corporate institutions’ documents such as university degree certificates, school certificates, driver’s licence, bank statement of acoounts, among others.
Iheanacho told journalists that the suspect was arrested following a tip-off, adding that upon his arrest, a search warrant executed in his house, led to the recovery of several forged certificates of Ambrose Alli University, Auchi Polytechnic, College of Education, Ekiadolor and sets of computers, stamp pads of various tertiary, banking and corporate institutions within Edo and Oyo states.
He said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.
(The Sun)
