I killed bank manager out of anger – Suspect

BY Evelyn Usman & Ifeanyi Okolie
LAGOS — Emotion ran high, yesterday, at the Oduduwa, Ikeja  office of the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, following a starling confession of a 33-year-old man who snuffed life out of a bank manager, weekend, in Satelite area of Lagos.

The suspect, Kenneth Udeh, who had been living with his in-law, Onyeka Idemili, since last year, told journalists that he carried out the act because of his inability to put his temperament in check. He, however, exonerated his brother in-law from the crime.

He said the deceased had on several occasions called him to prevail on his brother in-law to pay him the N11.8 million owed him, an amount, which Vanguard reliably gathered , the deceased borrowed from a woman in his bank.

He said: “On Saturday, Emeka (banker) called me and we went to buy newspapers and were reading them in his sitting room when he brought up the issue of the borrowed sum. At that point, he accused me of spending the money with my in-law and in the process, there was an argument.

He pushed me and I fell down down. Then, I rushed out of his flat and dashed into ours, to collect a kitchen knife. When I got to his flat, I started warning him, pointing the knife at him. Then he  rushed at me. I did not know I had stabbed him until I saw blood on the floor. At that point, I ran out and jumped through the fence to the other street  to avoid being lynched. I never knew he was dead until now.”

On his part, the man at the centre of controversy, Onyeka Idemili(debtor) who deals on cosmetics and sandals, maintained that he never sent his brother in-law to commit such an act.

He admitted to have borrowed N11 million from the deceased sometime last year with a promise to pay interest of N1.9 million monthly. But along the line, he could not meet up with the interest, an action he blamed on the deceased’s failure to release the borrowed amount on time.

He claimed to have been in his shop at Trade Fair complex, along Badagry expressway, last Saturday, when his phone rang, only to be informed that some policemen were ransacking his aprtment.

But he did not go to his house to ascertain what the problem was, as the assailant, according to him, later called him to meet him at Surulere.

But he was arrested at Maza-Maza park where Police said he was making move to board the next available vehicle to the east.

SOURCE: Vanguard Newspaper Nigeria 9 August 2011. 

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