Police recover decomposed body of army officer in Rivers

From Tony John, Port Harcourt

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested three suspected kidnappers in connection with the abduction and killing of a retired Army Captain, Godfrey Zwallmark, in the state.

Zwallmark, aged 64, who hailed from Plateau State, was kidnapped in September, 2021, in Agbonchia, in Eleme Local Government Area and taken to Igbo-Etche, Obio/Akpor LGA, where he died and his corpse was dumped there.

Daily Sun gathered that the deceased was taken to a lonely area in Igbo-Etche, where he was shot on the leg for being stubborn, which led to his untimely death.

State Commissioner of Police, CP Eboka Friday, while briefing journalists at the scene where the remains of the former army Captain was recovered, said the incident occurred on September 18, this year.

Eboka disclosed that the case was reported to the police a month after the man’s abduction, which was why no appreciable efforts were made.

He stated that as soon as the matter was reported to the police, the command swung into action and, through discreet intelligence, arrested three suspects, namely, Frank Ishie, Iwuji Reginald and Gomba Okparaji.

The state police boss disclosed that the suspects had demanded N200 million ransom from the family of the retired army captain.

Eboka explained that the leader of the arrested kidnappers confessed to have carried out three separate successful kidnaps where several sums of money were paid to them.

One of the suspects, Frank Ishie, who spoke to journalists on behalf of other suspects, confessed to the crime.

The suspect explained that the victim was kidnapped in Agbonchia in Eleme and because he was proving stubborn, they shot him on the leg.

The suspect revealed that the victim bled to death and they threw him out at the new layout, off Igbo-Etche road in Obio/Akpor Local Government area.

The suspect also confessed that he had carried out four successful kidnappings and the victims were kept at their hideout off Igbo-Etche road, Obio/Akpor before he collected ransom and released them.