Published 5th Jun, 2025

By Emmanuel Uti

There is hardly a better known idiom to describe Uche Kingsley Agumba than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Being a devout Catholic and coming from a humble background, no one would expect Agumba to end up in national dailies as a suspected kidnapper.

Just on May 27, the Enugu State Police Command arrested Agumba and two other men in an operation that led to the rescue of a 13-year-old girl who had been abducted by kidnappers in the Ishiagu community of the Ezeagu Local Government Area of the state. The police said the men were connected to the crime.

In a statement by Daniel Ndukwe, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, the police said that during the rescue, they found a male and a female decomposing body buried in a concrete-sealed pit within an uncompleted building owned and used as a shrine by High Chief Levi Onyeka Obu, nicknamed ‘Ezeani’ and ‘E-Dey-Play-E-Dey-Show’.

“The operation also led to the arrest of three male suspects connected to the crime, namely: Ilo Nweze Onyedikachi, aged 36; Ejike Odinwankpa, aged 38; and Uche Kingsley Agumba, aged 33,” the police said.

A DEVOUT CHRISTIAN

In a Facebook post by Igbo History on Friday, Agumba was described as a ‘deeply religious man’ who never missed church programmes. The page admin, who claimed to know him in person, wrote that Agumba was “one of those people who would question your faith if you missed church”.

He further said that when he heard the news of Agumba’s arrest, details such as the nickname of the suspect and the location sounded too familiar, but he brushed off the feeling that it might be him on the grounds that he was a devout Catholic. But nothing could be further from the truth.

“After all, the Uche I knew was a deeply religious man, someone who never missed church programs and was even known to travel from Aba to Enugu for special Catholic events. He often challenged me for not being as ‘serious’ with religion as he was,” he said.

He said that when he went online to search for pictures of the Uche Kingsley referenced in the kidnapping story, he was surprised to find Agumba’s picture.

“This was the same guy I once shared memories with. Out of curiosity and concern, I searched for him online. And when I saw his pictures, my heart dropped. It was truly him — Uche Agumba,” he said.

“We go way back. Uche served a man from Uga, Anambra State, and I remember when he got settled around 2011 or 2012 after serving for seven years. We were all young men trying to make it. I recall one particular day we returned from Port Harcourt, and he said to me, ‘Before I get married, I must be a very wealthy man.’ I reminded him that he was the only son of his parents. He nodded and said, ‘I know—but this is what I must do.’”

Igbo History wrote that many people involved in building materials at Ariaria knew who Agumba was. He said that while they trained together, he could not remember Agumba ever missing a church service.

“He was deeply involved in religious activities — chartering buses to Enugu weekly, buying and selling bottles of anointed water and yoghurt after the programs. I checked his Facebook recently — he still shares posts from those same church programs,” said Igbo History’s administrator.

The page admin wrote that it broke his heart to learn that Agumba was living a double life.

“I called a friend in Ariaria to confirm, and he told me it was true — Uche was the one. He also said Uche is still religious. The same church stickers are all over his shop, his car, and even his house. It’s like he never stopped pretending,” wrote Igbo History’s page admin.

BACK STORY

On May 28, the Enugu State Police Command explained that at about 3:15 am on May 25, officers attached to the Umumba Division, in collaboration with Neighbourhood Watch personnel and vigilant community members, successfully rescued the teenager kidnapped for ritual murder at Umuojor Village.

They said that during the rescue, two decomposing bodies — one male and one female — were discovered buried in a concrete-sealed pit within an uncompleted building owned and used as a shrine by Obu, who was caught a few days later.

The police said investigations revealed that the deceased victims were recently murdered and buried in the pit by the suspects for ritual purposes, and the rescued child was moments away from suffering the same fate before the timely intervention. It was during the police operation that Uche and two others were arrested.

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