Emmanuel Okuju, a police corporal accused of abducting a teenage girl after shooting her sister, turned himself in at the Lagos State Police Command on Monday. Okuju’s arrest is coming three months after he was declared wanted by the police for attempted murder and the kidnapping of Patience Isabor.
After allegedly kidnapping 17-year-old Isabor and wounding her sister, Blessing, on February 10, 2012, Okuju went into hiding.
Before the incident however, Okuju was a police officer attached to Ifako police station.
Okuju, who allegedly shot Blessing in the cheek at the girls’ Bariga residence in Lagos, blamed the “devil” for his action.
He denied kidnapping Patience, saying she absconded with him after his gun accidentally discharged and a bullet hit her sister.
“I came to the house to see Patience, and Blessing was in the next room, my rifle was in my bag, as I tried to place the rifle on the ground, that was how it fired and shot Blessing in the next room,” he said.
“It was in my efforts to adjust the gun that it fired again and shot Blessing in the cheek a second time. I was afraid that Blessing was dead so that was why I ran away and Patience followed me.”
Okuju also said that he and Patience had been hiding in Benin City.
Patience, who claimed to be carrying Okuju’s baby, also denied that she had been kidnapped.
“Blessing was hurt but we were scared, so that was how I ran away with him because of my pregnancy. Since he decided to come to report himself to the police, I came along with him so we can resolve this matter with my family,” Patience said.
The incident enjoyed wide media coverage, with the girls’ family calling for Okuju’s arrest .
In his reaction, the girls’ uncle, Steven Isabor, expressed joy over Okuju’s arrest.
“It is the press and the police that made things hot for him (Okuju), so we are happy that they are in the police custody now after months of looking for them,” he said.
Blessing is still receiving treating at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, following the wounds she sustained from the suspect’s bullets.
