Two suspects arrested in Edo over missing Liberian

Two persons have been arrested by the police in Edo State, South-south Nigeria, over the alleged disappearance of a Liberian national in the state.

The Liberian, Jethro Mulbah, was said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2019 in Benin City where he was resident.

The arrested persons are Joseph Demekar and Samson Obote. They are in police custody in the state.

The Liberian was said to have arrived in Nigeria in 2018 in search of job or business opportunities before his disappearance.

The police manhunt was said to have yielded no result throughout 2019.

The police renewed their investigation in 2020 when the mother of the missing Liberian received a phone call from his possible abductors who demanded N200,000 ransom, a police officer said.

The police official did not want his name mentioned in the report because he did not have the authority to speak on the matter.

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“The mother of the young man got a call from a Nigerian asking her to pay the sum of N200,000 as a ransom. The suspects sent her a picture of her son to convince her Mulbah was with them.

“The mother immediately left Liberia for Nigeria to drop the ransom as instructed but was later advised to inform the Nigeria police before parting with the money. Men of the Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Unit immediately swung into action,” the officer said.

The officer said the two suspects were tracked and arrested, but the whereabouts of the Liberian was still unknown.

The police spokesperson in the state, Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the arrest. He said the investigation was ongoing.