The Lagos State Police Command has arrested two more
suspects for the alleged murder of Cynthia Osokogu.
It was learnt that they were arrested by policemen
attached to Area E Command, FESTAC, on Monday.
Osokogu was drugged and killed on July 22, 2012 at
Cosmilla Hotel, FESTAC after being lured to Lagos for the purpose of business.
Four suspects – Okwumo Nwabufo and Ezike Olisaeloka,
Orji Osita and Maduakor Chukwunonso – had been charged to court for the murder.
It was learnt that one of the newly arrested suspects,
Nonso Ezeike, is the younger brother of Olisaeloka.
The other suspect arrested was the driver who
allegedly aided the prime suspects to escape from the hotel.
It was learnt that the
police were able to trail Nonso because he had sold Osokogu’s phone to someone
for N68, 000.
The police were said to have obtained Osokogu’s
BlackBerry Personal Identification Number and convinced the buyer to disclose
the identity of the seller (Nonso).
A senior police officer, who craved anonymity because
he was not authorised to speak with the press, said, “We were having problems
on how to get Osokogu’s phone so we met her father who gave us her BlackBerry
PIN. After that, we started chatting with the person on BB Messenger and he
told us he bought it from someone.
“We told him that we needed the phone and we pledged to
pay him back the money but he said the phone was giving him problems and he
intended to send it back to the person who sold it to him.
“We traced the mast and discovered he was chatting from
Port Harcourt. He said he bought the phone from Lagos. Few days later, he
called to say he had returned the phone to the seller (Nonso). We urged him to
ask Nonso to return the said phone to our office in Area E Command, Festac.
“Nonso eventually came to our office with a lawyer to
drop the phone and I asked my men to arrest him immediately.
“He claimed to be a graduate of Mathematics and
Computer Science at the Federal University of Science and Technology, Owerri
and the brother of Olisaeloka. He confessed to the police of having sold three
telephones given to him by his brothers. He also confessed that he sold
Cynthia’s Blackberry telephone for N68, 000.”
Meanwhile, while the accused persons had been remanded
in prison till October 3, the adjourned date, the incarceration of Orji and
Maduakor, who were pharmacists that sold the drug used to weaken Osokogu, has
continued to attract public fury.
Our correspondent, who visited the Ikoyi prison where
the four are being incarcerated on Tuesday, observed that they were accomodated
at Block E2.
However, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria said the
sale of the drug by the pharmacists was not criminal.
It was also learnt that counsels to the pharmacists
were working to secure their release before the advice of the Director of
Public Prosecutions.
A family source said, “Our lawyers have said they will
institute a suit for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights at a
high court” he said.
However, a senior police officer who craved anonymity
said the pharmacists had a case to answer because they might have been aware of
the purpose the drug was going to be used for.
He said, “I don’t know why the pharmacists were charged
with rape but they could be guilty of some other offences such as administering
a harmful substance.”
Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Ngozi Briade,
confirmed the arrest of the new suspects, but said she had no detail.