Italian kidnapper arrested in Delta State

A 50-year-old kidnapper of Italian descent has been arrested in Delta State. Mr Fernando Blessing was arrested and paraded alongside other criminals with various offences at the command headquarters in Asaba on Thursday.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Zanna Ibrahim, who paraded the suspects, said Fernando was arrested in Ogbe-Isoko community at the scene in Ogbe-Isoko community where he went to collect an additional ransom worth N50,000 from a victim's relatives after robbing the victim of N250,000.

“He was arrested at a scene where he came to collect a ransom of additional sum of N50,000 from the victim’s relatives having robbed the victim the sum of N250,000. Efforts to arrest other fleeing gang members is on course as case will be charged to court soon,” the commissioner said.

Paraded alongside Fernando was a deadly kidnapping syndicate headed by one Lucky Unumeri aka “FESBO” and one Charles Ighumaye aka “AWILO”. Mr Zanna said that they were responsible for most kidnaps within Warri/Ughelli/Agbarho/Eku/Sape

le and its environs and it is believed they are the gang who attacked and murdered the Area Commander, Ughelli, ACP Ndababa Usman, and the late DSP German Emmanuel.

Fernando, whose father is Italian and whose mother is from Isoko in Delta state, lives at Evowe Quarters of Ozoro in Isoko North LGA. New Telegraph reports that Fernando confessed that he was a member of the kidnapping syndicate but had to do so under duress after being duped of N600,000.

He said: 

“They forced me to become their member if I must get back my money. My desperation to recover my money from them has landed me in this mess. They told me to go and wait at the scene where I was arrested for somebody who will bring some money from which they will offset what they had defrauded me.”