Rita Enemuru, Reporting
The Delta State Police operatives have arrested a 32-year-old suspect, Alex Kehinde, over the murder of an elderly man in Asaba, after allegedly killing him and collecting a ransom of N2,000,000 from his family.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a video made available to Stonix News on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
According to Edafe, the case was first reported on February 3, 2026, when the lifeless body of the victim was discovered in his residence.
He explained that about a month before the discovery, the victim, a man in his late 70s, had contracted the suspect to renovate his building in the Okwashi area of Asaba.
Edafe added that the victim paid Kehinde the sum of N200,000 to commence work, but the suspect later brought in additional workers due to pressure to complete the project quickly.
However, the suspect reportedly paid the other workers and was left with one accomplice, who is currently at large.
The police spokesman said the suspect confessed that due to lack of money, his accomplice suggested they should kidnap the elderly man to extort funds from him.
Subsequently, when the victim visited the site, they allegedly lured him upstairs under the pretence of showing him a plumbing issue.
Edafe further stated that once upstairs, they forced the man to sit on the ground, and when he attempted to shout, they covered his nose and mouth with foam, which led to his suffocation and death.
“After killing the man, they made away with his motorcycle and phone. They removed the SIM card, sold the phone for N30,000, and later used the SIM to contact the victim’s son,” he said.
The suspects then reportedly demanded ransom and collected N2,000,000 from the victim’s son, even after the victim had been killed.
Meanwhile, Kehinde, in his confession, said, “The victim contacted me for work, but we killed him because we had no money. My accomplice suggested we should kidnap him.”
He added, “We called him upstairs and when he started shouting, my accomplice used foam to cover his mouth. We later took his phone and bike and collected N2,000,000 ransom, which we shared equally.”
Following investigations, Edafe noted that police operatives tracked the suspect to Lagos, where he was arrested and brought back to Asaba, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend his fleeing accomplice.
