APC’s Abia-North candidate murdered in Lagos

• Ugochukwu Photo: Family

Samson Folarin

A former candidate of the  All Progressives Congress for the Abia-North constituency in the 2015 general election, Ugochukwu Nwosu, has been murdered in his Lagos residence.

Ugochukwu was reportedly stabbed to death by a suspected robber at his residence on Shakiru Oleko Street, Agric, Ikorodu.

That the victim, despite his injuries, overpowered and apprehended the suspect.

 

He, however, gave up the ghost shortly after he was rushed to a private hospital in the area.

Our correspondent gathered that the 46-year-old politician was a first class graduate of Chemical Engineering of the University of Port-Harcourt, with a Masters degree in Chemical Analysis from Harvard University.

He was also said to be the Chief Executive Officer of Idife Nwosu Investment Limited and Business Info Base Business Directory.

His driver, one Obinna, said he and his boss were awoken by the sound of falling crates around 3am on Thursday, December 1.

He said, “On the day of the incident, my boss and I were the only ones at home. At about 3am, we heard sound of  empty crates of drinks in the compound falling. My boss, who was still working on his laptop in the living room, decided to go out to check what was happening.

“The sound also woke me up and I followed him. Shortly after, I heard sounds of two people struggling. I quickly ran out and behold, I saw my boss in a brawl with a man; he (Ugochukwu) was bleeding in his right hand.

“I joined him and we overpowered, disarmed and tied up the intruder.

“Afterwards, I noticed that my boss was about passing out.  I had thought he was bleeding only from his right hand, but I didn’t know that the intruder also stabbed him below the abdomen. I immediately drove him to a private hospital; but he had lost a lot of blood. He was later confirmed dead by a doctor.”

The suspect was handed over to policemen from the Owotu division, who transferred him to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department in Yaba.

The suspect, who identified himself as Dolapo Olajiru, said he was a robber, adding that he had stabbed the victim while they struggled.

He said, “I used to be a conductor but in the last three months, things have been very rough.  I have not had a vehicle to work with. In the process of waiting, a friend of mine, Ayo, introduced me to robbery. We are five in our gang and we usually rob houses in the Ikorodu area.  When we rob, we take away phones, money and valuables that we can lay our hands on.  We do not have a gun; we only use knives to scare our victims.

“That night, I was walking around to identify a house to rob when I saw the honourable’s  (Ugochukwu) house and I scaled the fence. I landed on some empty crates which also fell. The sound alerted the owner of the house and I heard a door open.  I immediately hid behind the crates.

“When he came close enough, I attacked him and we started to fight.  He was strong, but because I had a knife, I stabbed him in his right hand and he started bleeding.  He held on and tried to take the knife from me; but he couldn’t.  I also stabbed him in the waist, and it was at that point another man joined in the fight.  They overpowered me and tied me up.”

Olajiru said he was not hired to kill Ugochukwu, adding that he was only trying to “survive the hard times.”

The deceased’s elder brother, Innocent Nwosu, described the late politician as a gentleman, saying he was shocked at the news of his death.

 “We were preparing for our father’s 83rd birthday slated for December 29, 2016. He was the one piloting the whole arrangement and now he is no more.

“I really pray that our father survives the shock. This is a terrible loss to my family and the entire Abia State,” he added.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident.

She said, “It is a case of armed robbery. The command received an emergency call about the robbery and our operatives rushed to the scene. Unfortunately, the man had been stabbed. One of the suspects was arrested. Investigation is ongoing and efforts are on to arrest other members of his gang.”