Jubilation as notorious kidnapper Vampire is killed
There was jubilation yesterday in Imo State following the killing of notorious kidnapper Henry Chubueze, aka Vampire.
Vampire was gunned down by a combined Inspector General of Police Special Response Team from Force Headquarters Abuja, the Rivers State Police Command and Imo State Police Command respectively
Parading four other suspects alongside the lifeless body of Vampire before newsmen at the Imo State Police Command headquarters yesterday, the Force Police Public Relations Officer CSP Jimoh Moshood said the notorious kidnapper was gunned down by 1am yesterday at Umuowa bush in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers State.
He said that Vampire, on sighting the police, engaged them in a gun battle and he was killed while the other suspects were apprehended.
The force PRO said one of the police Sergeants, Austin Nwachkwu, sustained injuries during the gun battle.
He mentioned one of the most recent crimes that Vampire committed as the kidnap and killing of a traditional ruler and his wife at Mbaise after a ransom was paid.
One of the suspects, Arinze Abaecheta told newsmen that since Vampire escaped from prison custody (on January 27 this year), they had carried out kidnapping four times, but that Vampire had given him only N100,000.
The other suspects nabbed alive included Chukwuebuka Ikeazota, 23years; Samuel Ugochukwu, 24 years; and Obinna Elali, 26 years.
A statement that the Force PRO Moshood issued in Abuja late yesterday described Vampire as “the most dreaded, vicious and deadly Kidnap for ransom kingpin and notorious armed robber” who he said led his group to many kidnap and armed robbery attacks in Imo, Abia, Rivers, Delta and other states in the South-South and South-East region where they killed several innocent people.
Vampire was a cultist who later turned a vicious kidnapper and armed robber.
He had once confessed to the murder of his girlfriend Sandra and eight members of her family in Lagos State. He had said he was livid with the girlfriend because she stole his N45 million share of N110 million ransom paid by the family of one of his victims.
He confessed to have killed over 200 people in various kidnapping and armed robbery attacks, a record widely accepted to have justified his being called Vampire.