Lagos banker ‘hires assassins’ to kill ex-husband

The Ogun state police command has arrested Oluchi Tochukwu, a Lagos-based banker, and two suspected hired-assassins over failed attempt to assassinate Tochukwu Onyebuchi, identified as the ex-husband of the banker.

Parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Abeokuta, the state capital on Wednesday, Ahmed Iliyasu, the commissioner of police, said the banker hired the suspected criminals to assassinate her husband at his residence at Ayobo area of Lagos state.

Iliyasu named the two suspected assassins as Chigozie Smart (32) and Kingsley Ikechukwu (36).

He said they were intercepted and arrested on October 19 at Ijebu-Ode while attempting to escape to Onitsha with the victim’s Range Rover Jeep.

He said Oluchi was arrested at Ayobo area of Lagos State.

“One Oluchi, a 32-year-old banker, who was married to one Tochukwu Onyebuchi years ago, got separated from her husband following some matrimonial problems,” he said.

“The custody of their only child is currently being contested in the court but Oluchi has another plan.

“She connived with the trio of Chigozie Smart, Kingsley Ikechukwy and one other who is now at large to eliminate her husband.

“She arranged for the weapons which included cutlass, iron rods and acid which she kept in her husband’s compound at Ayobo area of Lagos state and described where she kept it to the assailants.

“The suspects went there on Wednesday as planned and matcheted the man severally on his head and poured the acid on him.

“The suspects thereafter abandoned the victim and took away his range Rover Jeep which Oluchi instructed them to drop at her brother’s place in Onitsha, Anambra state.

“Luck ran against them when a patrol team of the Ogun state command sighted the vehicle along the Ijebu-Ode/Benin expressway and stopped it for search.

“While searching the vehicle, blood stain was seen and the two occupants were unable to give satisfactory account of the blood stain, hence, they were arrested.

“It was during interrogation that the suspects revealed all that transpired to the police.”

Iliyasu said that the victim, who had been treated at an undisclosed hospital, was in the custody of the police helping them in the process of investigation.

Oluchi, however, denied contracting the suspects to assassinate her husband.

Oluchi, who acknowledged that her three-year-old marriage to her husband had crashed, told journalists that she had no reason to kill him.

But Chigozie told reporters that it was Oluchi who hired them to kill her husband with a promise to purchase “Tokunbo” cars for each of them after a successful operation.