The family of the deceased confirmed paying the ransom.
The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has confirmed the killing of its leader in Anambra State, Nwike Ogbunike, by kidnappers.
Mr. Nwike, who was Deputy Governor of Anambra State under Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife in 1991, was abducted by gunmen on March 19.
The ACN quoted the deceased’s family as saying the kidnappers made contact with his brother, Bufo Nwike, and demanded a ransom amount of N30 million in dollars.
“The younger Dr Nwike, negotiated the sum to N5 million which delivered to a location in Delta State through a courier on Friday April 05, 2013,after rejecting the offer for the wife or the brother to deliver the money,” the Anambra Chapter of the party stated.
“But rather than release the ex-Deputy Governor, the kidnappers seized the money and the courier on April 05, 2013, cutting off all communication, until the body was found.”
The party said the deceased’s body has been identified by its State Chairman, Amaechi Obidike, and other party leaders and family members at Agbor Police Station in Delta State.
It said all efforts and all contacts made to relevant authorities yielded no positive results.
“We are tremendously ashamed of the circumstances of his death and wish we could now erase from history that a former Deputy Governor of a State in Nigeria died in this manner,” the party stated.
The ACN asked the police to track down the abductors and killers of the politician since they could not save him while he was alive.
“We urge them to leave no stone unturned and not be beaten by any decoy until the nation has the right answers to the nagging questions. For we may (not) know who will it be next,” the party stated.
Kidnapping has been on the rise in many parts of Nigeria with victims’ families secretly paying ransom to secure their relatives.
