The circumstances surrounding the gruesome murder of Tony
Eze, a 39-year-old International businessman based in Abuja, the Federal
Capital Territory, have been unravelled by detectives attached to the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad, Force Headquarters, Abuja. The late Eze, from Umuagede
village in Nsukka L.G.A. of Enugu State met his untimely death after a night
out with friends, including a kinsman from Eha-Alumonah in Enugu State (name
withheld).
EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
Eyewitness account said he was shot dead by two young men
on a motor bike who closed in on him while he was trying to avoid a porthole,
just a few meters away from the refreshment garden at Tungama area of Zuba in
the outskirts of Abuja. He had gone to the garden for conviviality with
friends. It was learnt that on the fateful day, November 6, 2014, the father of
two was about closing for the day’s business when his kinsman and best friend
called to request that they go out for drinks at Zuba. He was said to have
initially hesitated before reluctantly agreeing to be at the refreshment garden
in the evening.
IN THE LIONS’S DEN
He reportedly left his shop about 5pm and got to the
garden where he met three of his friends already seated and enjoying drinks.
Crime Guard gathered that about 7:20pm, they all set to leave, moving in a
convoy, with his best friend and kinsman driving the car in front. Eze was the
last to join before he was blocked and shot dead inside his car.
SYMPATHIZERS ARRIVE SCENE OF DEATH
After the owner of the garden and other sympathizers
gathered at the scene, his friends reportedly drove back claiming that they
heard a bang at their back but thought that Eze must have hit something and that
was why they continued without him.
ABANDONEMENT
Reports said that even after the arrival of his friends
at the scene, no serious efforts were made to either take him to the hospital
or contact the police at Zuba. Policemen arrived the scene around 11pm and all
efforts made to revive Eze in the hospital failed. One of the doctors was said
to have reprimanded his friends for not rushing him to the nearest hospital
immediately they arrived the scene, saying that he could have survived the gun
shots if he had been given immediate medical attention.
SARS AND PRIVATE EYE TO THE RESCUE
Nevertheless, it was gathered that police detectives of
SARS swung into action after it was noticed that the police at Zuba were
lukewarm over the ugly incident. Police sources said their efforts were
complemented by those of a Lagos-based private detectives hired by members of
the family of the deceased. According to the source: ‘’While we were combing
all the nook and cranny of Abuja for clues, the private detectives were busy spreading
dragnets all over the country and even beyond, where the deceased had business
partners.
BREAKTHROUGH AT LAST “
A startling breakthrough came few weeks back after the
private detectives succeeded in arresting a suspect in possession of the phone
of the deceased which was the only item his assailants disappeared with after
the incident. The suspect turned out to be in the same Aluminium Market where
late Eze had his shop. We drilled him for long hours until he capitulated and
started confessing how they killed the innocent young man.”
CONFESSIONS GALORE
According to him, two people came to engage their
services for the job in their cult group. He gave a detailed description of
them and one of the descriptions tallied with that of the late businessman’s
best friend and kinsman who also had business in the same market with him. The
suspect said that when they asked those that came to hire them why they wanted
the man dead, they said he had been importing goods from abroad and needed to
be silenced. They were paid N1.2million, some of them got N250,000 while others
got N300,000 each.”
HOW OPERATION WAS EXECUTED
Giving a vivid account of how they carried out the
operation on the day in question, the suspect said some of them arrived the
restaurant earlier than the deceased and sat by a table near where he later sat
with his best friend who hired them. ‘He said that as soon as they were ready
to go, his friend winked at them at the nearby table and they used their
telephone to flash their colleagues who were positioned outside the area as a
signal that they should proceed to hit their target. He further said they were
told that he would be coming in a car behind. So, his friend quickly drove off
in front with the deceased following behind and when they got to the point
where they had to join the expressway, the friend in front drove faster. As
soon as his friend entered the expressway two of the hired killers blocked the
businessman’s car and one of them just pulled out his gun, approached the
driver’s side and yanked open the door. While Eze was passionately pleading
with them to take whatever they needed and spare his life, the armed man shot
him point blank, picked his phone and sped off.’’ Police sources also hinted
that after the arrest of five of the suspects at the popular Aluminium Market,
Abuja, his best friend confessed during interrogation that the deceased gave
him N5million to exchange for him around October 2014, and he was yet to pay
him back before he was killed. It was learnt that initially, he wanted to be
smart by diverting the attention of detectives to focus their searchlight on
one of the brothers to the deceased but when he learnt that one of the killers
had confessed to the crime, he withdrew his allegation. Sources said detectives
were still searching for the second person that hired the killers together with
the best friend to the deceased and would soon arrest him.
FAMILY REACTS Family
sources told Crime Guard that the arrest of their son’s
supposed best friend over his death sent shock waves all over the community.
According to a member of the family who simply identified himself as Simon( 45)
: ‘’ This is the greatest shock we have received in our area in recent times.
That suspect is well known to all of us as Tony’s best friend. They used to
travel together to China on business trips. In fact, he was closer to our
brother than anybody in the family. Whenever we needed to advise our brother,
we usually channelled it through this his friend who happens to come from
Eha-Alumonah Community, a neighbouring town in Nsukka. Interestingly, this his
friend was leading pallbearers during Tony’s burial. He was the first to arrive
our compound before other of his friends and business partners arrived. He was
shedding tears uncontrollably. Even after the burial, his wife prepared our
traditional food for the bereaved family which friends usually partake in. I
can remember vividly that a few days after Tony’s burial, the suspect told some
members of our family that he (the deceased) owed some business associates a
whooping sum of N12 million and there was urgent need to settle the debt but we
swept it aside by telling him that it could come up after the mourning period.
I will use this opportunity to thank the Nigeria Police Force and the private
detectives for the success recorded so far because these startling confessions
and arrests will go a long way to assuage our deep feeling of loss. (In tears)
Now see, for how much did they take the precious life of this young, amiable,
promising and easy-going young man? Who will train his children and take care
of his young wife?
PROBABLE MOTIVE
Crime Guard further gathered that detectives were working
on the theory that his best friend was envious of his progress and the boom in
his business and hatched the plan not just to eliminate him but also to stop
him from asking for the whooping N5million he gave him to change last October.
So far, it was learnt that both the suspect that confessed to the killing and
the deceased best friend were taken separately to the scene of the crime and
they pointed out correctly the table where they sat and the point where Eze was
intercepted and killed.
POLICE AUTHORITIES INTERVENE
Meanwhile, it was learnt that on hearing the progress
recorded in the case, police authorities have directed that no stone should be
left unturned in rounding up all those remotely or otherwise connected with the
assassination of the young and promising businessman and they should be charged
to court for murder accordingly.
Tags
Crime