One of the two suspects paraded for the murder of Cletus Onyekwele, a sub-contractor with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Port Harcourt, has said that they killed him because he was over working them.
Kingsley Nwankor, arrested along with Joseph Francis, told journalists when they were paraded that he held the deceased while the second suspect hit him severally with a wooden object.
He said the deceased had been a thorn in their flesh for giving them too much work to do.
“When we entered late Onyekwele’s office, my colleague, Joseph, asked him questions about our job. At that point the deceased flared up and wanted to fight Joseph. I held the deceased by the hand while Joseph hit him severally with a wooden object,” he stated.
Parading the suspects before journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed, said late Onyekwele was found dead in a pool of his own blood at the Industrial Area of SPDC on April 13, 2017.
He said the suspects were arrested with the aid of forensic science seven months after the incident, adding that DNA samples, pieces of physical evidence and eye witnesses’ accounts were deployed in tackling the case.
He said about 50 suspects were invited for questioning, adding that relevant forensic exhibits were obtained from them, processed and forwarded to the appropriate laboratories for analysis and report.
Zaki said the investigation paid off when after three months of submitting the forensic exhibits, a match was found belonging to one of the profiles earlier sent and the suspect was identified as Kingsley Nwankor.
He said “after being confronted with overwhelming evidence, particularly the presence of his DNA at the crime scene, coupled with other damning pieces of evidence, the suspect, Kingsley Nwankor broke down in tears and confessed to have carried out the act that led to the death of Cletus Onyekwere.”
He said Nwankor’s confession led to the arrest of the second suspect, Joseph Francis, adding that the suspect is currently helping them in their investigations.
