Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Three men beat debtor to coma over unpaid N350,000 loan

By Owen Akenzua, Asaba
18 July 2016   |   1:07 am
Hell was let loose on Saturday in Asaba, Delta State, when three men at Ezeani Avenue, Asaba allegedly descended on their debtor, one Friday Okorie, and beat him to coma.

Nigerian police

Police arrest man over alleged attempt to use wife for money ritual

Hell was let loose on Saturday in Asaba, Delta State, when three men at Ezeani Avenue, Asaba allegedly descended on their debtor, one Friday Okorie, and beat him to coma.

According to an eyewitness, Mary Ovie, the creditors ambushed the victim for defaulting in repaying a N350,000 loan he took from the creditors’ loan savings scheme, after several efforts to recover the loan failed in the last four months.

The victim had obtained the loan to reconstruct a house he inherited from his late father. According to Okorie, the night he got the loan, he was allegedly attacked by hoodlums who made away with the cash at gunpoint.

Since then, family sources said Friday fell short of the agreement to service the loan with interest before repaying the capital. This development reportedly made him go into hiding until he was ambushed yesterday.

On sighting the debtor, the creditors, in the ensuing melee, allegedly hit their victim on the head with plywood before he collapsed and went into coma.

A policeman at the ‘A’ Division, who did not want his name in print, told The Guardian he rescued the situation and prevented the man from being lynched to death. “The two creditors were arrested on the spot, while one of them escaped. They are currently helping the police in our investigations.

In a related development, policemen at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Asaba, on Thursday arrested a 49-year-old trader, Livinus Madu, for allegedly attempting to use his wife for rituals.

The police image-maker in the state, Mrs. Celestina Kalu, confirmed that the police detectives acted on a tip-off after the suspect’s plot was uncovered by the pastor of a popular church along Ezeani (name withheld) during an all-night programme.

It was gathered that the suspect had allegedly told his pregnant wife before the bubble burst that she might not survive her pregnancy, as more money would come to him if she died during labour.

A family member, who did not want her name in the print, leaked the information to the victim’s pastor, who confirmed that the matter should not be treated with kid’s glove, and was subsequently reported to the police at the State CID.

The Police PRO said the suspect upon investigation, confessed that since he married his wife, business dropped and he had no other means to make money, hence he was introduced to some ritualists, who instructed him to bring his wife for the purpose.

“The suspect made useful statements to the police. On completion of investigation, he would be charged to court,” she said.

0 Comments