THE prime suspect in the kidnap and subsequent murder of Rev. Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu of the Catholic Diocese of Kafachan, Kaduna State, Douglas Henry, has said he masterminded the kidnap of the priest because he needed Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N200,000.00) to solve a personal problem.
Okechukwu was abducted on 4 March 2025, at about 9:15 p.m. at his residence in Tachira, Kaura Local Government of Kaduna State. He was later found dead the following day.
Speaking on Thursday at the headquarters of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) in Jos, the Plateau State capital where he is currently being held, Douglas Henry said he invited other criminals from elsewhere to accomplish the assignment but denied asking his colleagues to kill the priest.
“Fr Okechukwu is living in our house at Tachira and I masterminded his kidnap because I needed N200,000 to solve a personal problem.
“I invited some guys (colleagues) from other places to assist me to accomplish the mission but I didn’t ask them to kill him.
“I don’t know why they (allegedly) killed him; I was not with them because I later left them with the priest,” Douglas Henry who is a keyboardist and a dancer in the church said.
Another suspect Pate Yau, 33, who is also being held at OPSH, said that the prime suspect had called him to assist to actualise the crime.
“At first, I refused to be part of the deal, but the chief suspect insisted. The prime suspect and I grew up in the same community. So, on the said date I left my place in Warsa-Piti in Lere Local Government and participated in the kidnap of the priest.
“He actually contacted other guys from Bokkos in Plateau who came with guns; after we took the priest and walked for some distance, we left him with them. So, we can’t say how and why they allegedly killed the priest,” he said.
An official of the OPSH, who preferred anonymity, said that the suspects were arrested on Tuesday, following a raid troops conducted in a settlement at Warsa-Piti community of Lere.
The official said that investigations were ongoing to unravel the whereabouts of the remaining persons who allegedly participated in the heinous crime.
Eighteen-Eleven Media