A suspected kidnapper, who introduced himself as Cyril Isong, 36, has revealed in great detail how he and some cult members tricked and abducted a House of Representatives member simply identified as Uncle P at the Asokoro area of Abuja.
Isong’s syndicate was smashed by operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT) led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Tunji Disu. Isong was arrested a year after he abducted Uncle P. The suspect graduated from the Federal University of Minna, Niger State, where he studied Information Technology.
According to the police, the syndicate’s modus operandi is to rent short term apartments in highbrow areas in Abuja and then use bogus business opportunities, trick victims into the apartments and then kidnap them.
The police launched an investigation into the activities of the syndicate following a petition from Uncle P to the Inspector-General-of-Police (IGP) Alkali Usman Baba. After receiving the petition, IGP ordered IRT to investigate the matter. On August 31, 2021, Isong aka Sani, was tracked and arrested in Akwa Ibom State.
Uncle P in the petition explained that on August 4, 2020, he received a phone call from an unknown number, with the caller introducing himself as Sani, a former member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2005.
While speaking with Uncle P, Sani claimed that he had health challenges and had been advised to contact Uncle P.
Uncle P by then worked directly with the Speaker of the House of Representatives. One of his duties was to take charge of the affairs of former members of the house.
The petition reads: “I directed the caller to my house in Abuja, but he gave excuses that his illness had incapacitated him. He sent me the address of an apartment in Asokoro and pleaded with me to come. On getting to the apartment, I met two boys who introduced themselves as brothers to Sani. I walked into the apartment and was immediately attacked. They blindfolded and tied me up.”
Members of the syndicate collected the sum of N65, 000 that was in Uncle P’s possession, searched his car and collected 2000 dollars found within.
They also collected other valuables, after which they asked him to provide a phone number, with which they could call to demand payment of ransom for his release. After Uncle P eventually regained his freedom, he went to Asokoro Police Station to lodge a complaint.
It was during the investigation that operatives discovered that Isong had also kidnapped and robbed his lover, Tania and sister-in-law.
Isong, who got married in 2017, stated that his broken marriage caused him to toe the pathway of crime. He said that the first two years of his marriage were beautiful. He and his wife travelled across the world for business and pleasure.
He said: “I thought our marriage was made in heaven until the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed everything. We lost a lot of goods and became indebted. Suddenly I noticed that my wife started locking her phones, and as a computer expert, I was able to tap into her phone and started reading her discussions with various men. I was frustrated reading how she begged them for money. The honourable who we knew as Uncle P was one of such persons. He even visited our home, pretending to be a family friend. Unknown to him, I read his previous chat with my wife. I made up my mind that I would deal with him. Pretending to be a good host, I collected his phone number. It was his visit that led to the final break up of my marriage because I confronted my wife. She got angry and walked out of the marriage. I bought a new line and contacted him, pretending to be a woman. He fell into my trap and agreed to visit me at home. I told him that I was shy and detested sleeping in the hotel with a man that was not my husband. Meanwhile, I had contacted some cultists that I knew in school to assist me with the operation. They were the ones who arranged a beautiful girl who spoke to the honourable via a video call.”
He further said: “The apartment is a short term rent in an estate in Asokoro. It was N80,000 a night. On the agreed date, he came; we grabbed and tied him up. I did not speak throughout because he might recognise my voice. We searched him and took all the valuables and cash found on him and inside his car. He refused to call his family for more money, rather he asked for our bank account details. I knew that he wanted to trap us so we decided to leave him and then we ran. We ensured that his hands were untied. No one touched him; it was after my arrest at the police station that I learnt the boys I hired also took dollars from his car. I returned to Akwa Ibom State since I could no longer afford to pay house rent in Abuja. It was while I was in Akwa Ibom that my uncle, who is based in the USA, instructed me to go and learn software engineering. I graduated and opened a website where I can train people. It was when I entered a bank to open an account that the police arrested me.”
Recalling how he dealt with Tania, Isong explained that he met her through a friend. Tania owns a restaurant.
He narrated: “It was after we started dating that she closed down her restaurant and I assisted her to sell all the valuables. I kept N300, 000 and promised to give it to her but failed. She kept harassing and asking me to pay the loan, but I knew I wouldn’t because I was in serious debt. Tania is very rich, but she refused to let go. I decided to handle her matter the same way I did the honourable. I used another phone number and introduced educational tourism to her in case she wanted her daughter to study abroad. We lured her to an apartment and used the same method. We took N80, 000 cash that we found in her possession. She was so stubborn; I told them to let her go. The third victim was my sister-in-law. I always knew that one day; I would need to teach her a lesson. In the beginning, she was against my marriage to her sister, and she was the one who helped my wife to move out of our matrimonial home. She’s into cryptocurrency and I used another phone number to call her, pretending to be a successful businessman. I told her to come to my apartment at Asokoro and that I wanted to invest in her business. She arrived and I tied her up. We saw so much money in her dollar account but to withdraw was difficult. We only took the N500, 000 cash we found on her and disappeared. It was after that operation that I decided to stop and return to Akwa Ibom. I felt bad because I knew the trauma my victims must have experienced. If I was not caught, I would have been able to make at least N200, 000 and payback somehow since all my victims were known to me. I promise to help the police to pick up others who are still at large.”
