The Civil Police in São Paulo arrested two Nigerian men accused of kidnapping and torturing a fellow Nigerian with a hot iron for approximately 20 hours. The Anti-Kidnapping Division (DAS) of the Department of Strategic Police Operations (Dope) rescued the victim.
The victim, a 38-year-old Nigerian merchant, was intercepted around 9 p.m. on Wednesday (10) as he left home to go to the barber in Guaianazes, in São Paulo’s East Zone. The kidnappers pretended to be armed and forced the man into a rideshare car, which took them to the location of the hideout in Cidade Tiradentes, also in the East Zone.
According to Detective Eduardo Pereira, from the 1st DAS Precinct, the suspects tied up the merchant and initiated a video call with his sister, who lives in Nigeria, demanding money in exchange for not killing him.
“They told her to sell a plot of land belonging to the victim, valued at about US$18,000 [approximately R$90,000], and transfer the money to one of their accounts. During the call they showed her footage of her brother being tortured with a hot iron,” the detective said
The merchant’s family contacted DAS, which began an investigation and managed to track the origin of the calls being made to the victim’s sister. Officers then went to the hideout, arrested the two Nigerian suspects, and freed the captive around 5 p.m. on Thursday (11). The victim was found bound and bearing burn injuries caused by the iron. His reunion with his wife, son, and brother was recorded by the police.
The two arrested Nigerians were identified as Darlington Chibueze Nwirji, 43, and Patrick Tochukwu Okolo, 49. They were charged with extortion through kidnapping and torture. Ancestrals was unable to contact their legal representatives for comment.
Because both the victim and suspects are foreign nationals, DAS notified the Federal Police (PF) and the Nigerian Embassy in Brasilia about the case. If found guilty and sentenced, the kidnappers could face prison terms of up to 40 years each, according to the police chief.
