A suspect, Issac Iguodaro, has denied the allegation of being a member of a cult group as well as the kidnap allegation of one Glory Aneite (18) levelled against him and his accomplices by the Edo State Police Command.
Iguodaro, a phone repairer, was among the four suspected cultists paraded by the police for allegedly kidnapping an 18-year-old girl in Edo State.
The command’s spokesperson, Chidi Nwabuzor, had said the suspects alleged to be cultists shot repeatedly on Agbonwonmba Street, off Saint Saviour Street, Muritala Muhammed Way, and in the process abducted Glory Aneite.
He said the police in collaboration with the vigilante immediately moved to the scene and rescued the victim unhurt and arrested four suspects with one locally made cut-to-size pistol, while one expanded cartridge was recovered.
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The suspect in an interview with journalists said, “We didn’t kidnap the girl; my friends only followed me to ask for my N24,000 from the her.
“I repaired a phone for this girl since last three months, and after fixing her phone, she pretended to have transferred the money to me through a phone which produced a fake alert.
“Since then, anytime I call her to ask for my money, her number is always showing line busy and I later discovered she has blocked me when I used another number to chat her up.
“So on this day, I sighted her when I went out with my friends to buy snacks. I asked my friends to follow me, that I had seen the girl that sent a fake alert to me. We took the girl to talk about how she would pay the money
“We didn’t hold her captive, as he left after our talk about the money. I only demanded N24,000 for the phone I repaired for her.
He said after the incident, he heard that one of his friends had been arrested, adding that when they went to the station to tell them that their friend was innocent, they were equally arrested.
“We are not kidnappers and cultists and there was no gun in our possession. We are not the owner of the gun they presented to the media,” he said.
