Posted by By Boniface Nzama - Calabar on
Obeten Tokoyeke Fred, an armed robbery suspect who recently murdered an innocent female undergraduate of the University of Calabar at the Ibiahe Palm Estate, along Calabar-Ikom highway in Cross River State, has made a shocking confession, saying that the girl was a security risk.
• Says she was security risk
Obeten Tokoyeke Fred, an armed robbery suspect who recently murdered an innocent female undergraduate of the University of Calabar at the Ibiahe Palm Estate, along Calabar-Ikom highway in Cross River State, has made a shocking confession, saying that the girl was a security risk.
The suspect, a final year student of the Department of Educational Planning and Administration of the University of Calabar cum career armed robber, said he personally killed the fellow female student of the university, Miss Edith Nniga James, who was shot at close range on the front seat of a commercial vehicle in order to avoid being identified by the girl.
Confessing his bloody operation at the State Police Headquarters, Diamond Hill in Calabar, where the seven-man robbery gang was paraded, Obeten, alias Eddy, said he was constrained to kill the girl, as he felt it was risky to spare her life, since Edith had already identified his face as a fellow student of the University of Calabar.
Commenting on his arrest, Obeten said the security operatives were 'wonderful", saying that he was going to renounce armed robbery after he may have been released.
The suspect said he was afraid of execution, as he appealed to 'government to tamper justice with mercy, since the Ibiaha Estate raid was just his second robbery operation."
He said, what turned out to be a robbery operation, was supposed to be a political assignment, claiming that the gang was on an errand to work for a PDP chairmanship aspirant in Akamkpa Local Government Area for the forthcoming local government council elections.
Fielding questions before a mammoth crowd that thronged the police headquarters, Obeten claimed that he was lured into armed robbery by an undisclosed 'bad friend", saying 'I will never repeat it", if he was released to enable him complete his degree programme.
In his words: 'We are begging the government to help us. It was a bad friend that asked us to follow him and work for one chairmanship aspirant in Akamkpa, who wants to contest the forthcoming local government elections.
The seven-man gang based in Nko Village in Yakurr Yocal Government Area, said they boarded a public vehicle from Ugep, and when they got to the Ibiahe Estate, the leader of the gang, one Sunday Innah Elias (alias 05 Ojilima) suddenly declared that 'our transport fare ends here."
'As we got down from the vehicle, they immediately gathered logs of wood and blocked the highway, and the first car we stopped was the one that I incidentally killed somebody (Miss Edith).
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tom Adama, and the new Commissioner of Police, Mr. Innocent Ilozuoke of the Cross River State Police Command, the seven-man robbery gang included one Ayamobi Efoli Edet (25), Lucky Igri Egbe (32), Emmanuel David Ofem (24), Omini Abam Ugbor (23), Bassey Etim Essien (23), Obeten Toyokeke Fred (alias Eddy) (23), and Sunday Innah Eteng (alias 05 Ojilima) (28), who was said to be the gang leader.
Prior to their arrest, Mr. Okpene said the gang specialized in terrorizing commuters along the Calabar-Ikom Highway, causing road accidents by blocking the highway with logs of wood.
Items recovered from the gang were said to include one double barrel locally made shot gun, one single barrel locally made shot gun, four machetes, one torchlight, two Nokia handsets, one Motorola handset, a motor charger, their robbery costumes, and N50,085 cash.