Igbo businessman based in Cameroon kidnapped, beaten & striped naked by his former apprentice

Details of how an Igbo businessman based in Cameroon was kidnapped, beaten and striped naked by his former apprentice over unpaid debt has emerged

A report by the founder of Due Process Advocates (DPA), Attorney Emeka Ugwuonye detailed how Mr. Livi Maduako, who is from Edenta, Awo Idemili, in Osu Local Government Area of Imo State was abducted by his former apprentice identified as Obinna Moses after the latter failed to pay the goods amounting to millions of naira that was given to him by the former.

According to the report, Moses Obinna instead of paying the debt he owed to his former master allegedly arranged for his abduction and demanded for 37 million naira ransom from the family.

The report said, “Mr. Livi Maduako is from Edenta, Awo Idemili, in Osu Local Government Area, Imo State. He is a trader based in Douala Cameroon, where he has lived with his family for years. Mr. Maduako had several young Nigerians who have apprenticed for him in the past years. Among them are: (1) Obinna Moses, (2) Emeka Monday, (3) Daberechi Abel, (4) Emmanuel Ifeanyi, (5) Friday Samuel, (6) Longinus Abuchi.

“Obinna Moses had completed his apprenticeship and relocated to Nigeria. However, he requested continued assistance from Maduako, his former master, by way of supplying goods to him on credit. Maduako supplied goods on credit to Obinna Moses, running into millions of Naira in value. However, Obinna sold the goods and failed to pay the money owed to Maduako. When Maduako called Obinna to ask for the money, Obinna promised to pay back on various dates but failed. Maduako decided to use his next visit to Nigeria as opportunity to meet Obinna to discuss how Obinna would pay back the debt.

“Maduako returned to Nigeria on January 2, 2022 with his wife and daughter. On 8th January, 2022, while he was in his house in his country home, he heard some loud noises. Then, a group of men about eight in number, broke into his house with guns and machete. As some of them beat him, others ransacked his house, took his money and his car (Hyundai Veracruz). They then forced him into their vehicle and took off. They blind-folded him as they had him in their car.

“The men took Mr. Maduako to a place which he later discovered was also in Osu Local Government, and they held him there by locking him up in a room with his hands and legs bound. He was repeatedly beaten over the next six days. It was here he saw Obinna and realized that Obinna was the leader of the gang of kidnappers. Obinna and his men demanded 37 Million Naira as ransom for him to be released. Maduako was forced to use his phone to call his wife to and to ask her to raise the money for ransom.

“While holding Mr. Maduako, the kidnappers tortured him and stripped him nude and made video recordings of him. They also forced him to swear that Obinna Moses did not owe him any money. Also, the kidnappers forced Mr. Maduako to confess to being a homosexual and to having molested young boys and other crimes he knew nothing about. They beat him and threatened to kill him if he did not confess to those crimes. They, video-recorded him as he made those false confessions.

“Six days after being in the hands of the kidnappers, Maduako and one other man held by the kidnappers managed to escape in the middle of the night, while the men guarding them were asleep. Upon seeing that Maduako had escaped, the kidnappers went back to the home of Maduako and kidnapped his wife, their daughter and two of Maduako’s brothers (Demion Maduako and Vitus Maduako).

“The kidnappers tortured Maduako’s wife, daughter and his two brothers. They video-recorded the humiliation of Maduako’s family members including the video-recording of where the four were being subjected to oath-swearing ordeal depicting them using the mouth to pick up kola nut from the ground. (This video has also made it into the social media). The kidnappers, whose voices could be heard in the video, carefully avoided their faces appearing in the video. It was after subjecting the family members of Maduako to oaths and making his wife swear that she would return to Cameroon to send them money that they released the four.

“Investigation has yielded information on the identities of the kidnappers. They provided a bank account number into which the 37 million they demanded as ransom was to be paid. The account number belongs to the father of Obinna Moses. Also, their voices are easy to identify , as their voices could be heard clearly on the video.

“A DISTURBING REALITY ABOUT THIS CASE AND THE ROLE OF IGBO TELEVISION:

“We discovered that the video the kidnappers made of Maduako appeared first on Igbo-TV, and subsequently on some bloggers channels, which they are sharing on social media. We and, I believe, the police will be interested in knowing how Igbo-TV and these bloggers got the video recordings the kidnappers made of Mr. Livi Maduako. These outlets must now guide the police in this investigation. Also, questions will be asked as to the kind of investigation these media outlets conducted before they began to air these videos, whether they consulted the police regarding the content of the videos, given that what is contained in the video, on its face, is a confession to serious crimes.

“Mr. Maduako is currently receiving treatment for the beating and torture injuries sustained in the hands of the kidnappers. The first picture below shows Mr. Maduako before he was kidnapped and the subsequent videos show his torture injuries sustained while in the hands of the kidnapers.”