Court sentence Police Corporal, Bus Conductor to death by hanging for kidnapping school VP in A’Ibom

An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a police corporal, Mbazigwe Chinedu Friday, and a bus conductor, Isaac Eddy Ndeesor, to death by hanging for the abduction of a school vice principal in Ukanafun Local Government Area.

The court found the two men guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms in connection with the kidnap of Elder Akara Johnson Mendie, Vice Principal of Community Secondary School, Nkek.

Justice Nsemeke Daniel, who delivered the judgment, held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and ordered that the convicts be executed by hanging.

According to evidence presented before the court, the incident occurred on July 5, 2015, when the victim was returning from church with members of his family along the Urua Akpan Udosen–Ikot Unah Road in Ukanafun Local Government Area.

The victim told the court that four armed men in a Toyota Camry blocked his vehicle at about 3:30pm and forcefully abducted him. The attackers also seized his wife’s handbag containing important documents, including a will, a Power of Attorney, reading glasses and a mobile phone.

He testified that he was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location where his captors demanded a ransom of N50 million, threatening to kill him if the demand was not met.

The family later paid N200,000 as ransom through the victim’s younger sister on July 10, 2015, after which he was released in Bori, Rivers State. He subsequently reported the incident at a police station in the area before returning to his community.

One of the convicts, Police Corporal Mbazigwe Chinedu Friday, attached to Mopol 57 in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area, admitted in his statement that he took part in the abduction.

He told investigators that he was contacted by a man identified simply as Felix, who allegedly introduced another accomplice said to be acting on behalf of an unnamed politician who accused the victim of killing a friend.

Friday admitted that he used his Toyota Camry to block the victim’s vehicle, enabling the gang to bundle the victim into the car. He later transported the victim to a bush in Ogoni area of Rivers State after retrieving another vehicle when the Camry developed a fault.

He stated that the firearm used during the operation was not an official police weapon and that the other suspects were civilians.

During a search of his residence, investigators recovered a locally made revolver pistol, live ammunition, an empty AK-47 magazine, wraps of Indian hemp, CCTV equipment, mobile phones, ATM cards and SIM packs.

The second convict, Isaac Eddy Ndeesor, confessed that the gang waited close to the victim’s residence after learning he would be returning from church.

Ndeesor admitted stealing the victim’s mobile phone and using it, a move that eventually led to his arrest after security operatives tracked the device.

Delivering judgment, Justice Daniel criticised the prolonged nature of the trial, noting that the case, filed in 2016, was only concluded in 2026.

He rejected claims by the first defendant that he was framed, describing the defence as inconsistent and unconvincing.

The judge questioned how a serving police officer could lead a kidnapping gang to abduct a victim returning from church with his family.

The court sentenced both men to five years imprisonment each for conspiracy and seven years imprisonment each for unlawful possession of firearms, in addition to the death sentence by hanging.

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