How gunmen abducted and killed Anambra businessman ‘Fish Magnet’ despite ransom payment;
On Saturday, July 26, 2025, at approximately 10:30 p.m., assailants driving an ash-colored Lexus SUV invaded Onyekere's residence in the Ezinifite community of Okpuno, Awka South LGA, Anambra State. They forced their way into his compound.
The armed hoodlums shot Onyekere in the leg. They then abducted him, taking him away in his own car, a navy blue Toyota Corolla.
The assailants fled the scene through bush paths towards Nawfia, firing gunshots into the air.
Killing:
Onyekere was held captive for three days.A ransom was paid to the kidnappers.Despite the ransom payment, the kidnappers did not release him and instead killed him.His lifeless body was later found by the roadside. The police stated that his body was discovered after he was killed
Meanwhile, Anambra State Police Command has launched a manhunt for the yet-to-be-identified gunmen who abducted and killed a popular businessman, Ifesinachi Onyekere, also known as “Fish Magnet”, despite the payment of an undisclosed amount for ransom.
Onyekere, a son of an All Progressives Grand Alliance chieftain in the state, was abducted on Saturday, when some assailants invaded his residence in Ezinifite community, Okpuno, Awka South LGA of Anambra State, in a late-night attack.
Eyewitnesses said, the incident sent panic and shockwaves to the area as the armed hoodlums shot the victim in the leg before whisking him away in his car and escaped through bush paths towards Nawfia, while firing gunshots into the air, thereby causing panic in the area
When contacted on the development, the state police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the development in a statement adding that joint security operatives had recovered the victim’s vehicle the assailants used to escape the scene.
The Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, had directed all tactical and intelligence units to redouble their efforts in tracking down the armed men responsible for the abduction and subsequent killing of Ifesinachi Onyekere, the Managing Director of Fish Magnet Outlet, who was attacked in the evening of July 27, 2025, at his residence in Ezinifite village, Okpuno, Awka.
According to Ikenga, the CP, while condemning the killing, assured the public that the criminal elements behind this cowardly act would be brought to book.
The police described the incident as a "targeted attack," stating that preliminary investigations suggest the attackers had trailed the victim before the abduction.
His stolen Toyota Corolla was later recovered by a joint team of police officers and Anambra Vigilante Operatives along the Ukwulu/Igbariam road.