Chief Ignatius Odunukwe, a popular Anambra billionaire and owner of Fireman Generator, was kidnapped and murdered by his abductors and the moment police recovered his body was caught on video.
The businessman, who has businesses and properties in different states in Nigeria, was lured by his kidnappers who posed as real estate agents interested in buying a property from him.
The suspects
IG Obiodunukwe, as he was popularly called, was missing for weeks, having been kidnapped last December. His decomposing body was found on Thursday, January 16, 2020, after his kidnappers were caught and they led police to the location where they dumped the body.
His decaying, dismembered body was found in a sack in a forest in Lagos. His remains were later taken to Havana hospital, Surulere.
How he was killed:
The billionaire who hails from Oraukwu in Anambra State was last seen when he went to seal a land deal with his murderers who posed as real estate buyers interested in one of his properties.
After negotiations, both parties agreed on a price and the agreement was drafted by IG Odunukwe’s lawyers. His lawyers suggested going with him to sign the papers but he declined, explaining that he also had to stop by at Ikoyi club before meeting the land buyers.
He went to Ikoyi club and reportedly played tennis for a while before leaving to meet the “buyers”. That was the last time he was seen.
When he didn’t return home, his family started looking for him. His vehicle was found in the premises of the hotel where he agreed to meet with the buyers but the hotel management said he didn’t enter inside the hotel building and their CCTV covers only the inside of the hotel.
His family reported the incident to the Assistant Inspector General of Police and they commenced investigations.
They succeeded in arresting one of the culprits but he denied knowledge of the incident. When the police went to his house, they found IG Odunukwe’s property documents which had been signed. The man insisted that he already concluded the business deal with Chief Odunukwe and paid for the property.
However, when the police asked him for the account number where he made payments, he claimed he paid with gold.
He was detained and interrogated and two other suspects were arrested. They confessed that they picked IG Odunukwe and forced him to sign the documents, after which they killed him.
The suspects who identified themselves as Arinze, Solomon, Cletus and Daniel Ibeaju took the police to the forest where they dumped the body in Ajah and they took turns to confirm that the body in the bag belongs to the missing businessman.
