Kidnappers take over Igboland

Chief Godwin Ogbaga, former minister of power and steel, recently, had a humiliating experience in the hands of kidnappers in Ebonyi state. The hoodlums trailed Ogbaga from his house to where he went to drop off a visiting friend in Abakiliki town, and abducted him in his own vehicle. They, subsequently, whisked the former minister to their hide-out where they ordered him to remove his dress. (Picture left shows Nnubia while that on the right shows a gunned down kidnappers by Abia state police command)

Suddenly, to Onaga’s consternation, a nude girl emerged from a dark corner of the room, and Onaga’s abductors, at gun point, ordered him to pose nude with the girl while they took photographs of the erotic scene. Thereafter, the kidnappers demanded N5 million ransom from Onaga, or they would blackmail him with the pictures.

It was learnt that although the shocked Onaga did not have as much as N5 million, he secured his release with a certain amount of money from the kidnappers.

But the one time minister is just one out of such victims in the salt state of Ebonyi. At the moment, Chief Pius Okoh, proprietor of Holy Ghost Secondary School, Abakiliki battles to ward off a kidnap gang that continues to pester his life over N20 million ransom. The experiences of Okoh, also, the proprietor of a newly founded Holy Ghost University in the state, were even worse than that of Onaga.

Okoh’s troubles started when the kidnap gang, late last year, abducted him from his school premises in Abakiliki, and whisked him to an undisclosed location. While the gang, operating in a one door Honda car, ferried the renowned educationist along Enugu/Abakiliki high way, they blind-folded him, but when the cloth was removed, he discovered he had been brought to a shrine!

At the shrine, Okoh was forced to be in a posture of ritual exercise involving human soul. There was a pre-arranged scene whereby a young man was made to lay face downwards with his head covered with a white cloth. Okoh was, then, forced to wield a cutlass as if he would chop off the young man’s head. The next thing he heard were clicks of a camera. Okoh, to his chagrin, discovered that one of the abductors, who had earlier claimed to be a journalist, was busy taking photographs of him in that ritual postures.

The gang, after this episode, demanded a ransom of N20 million from Okoh, but the school proprietor initially sid he could not afford such a staggering amount, but seeing that his abductors meant business as they severally threatened to kill him, he volunteered to provide some amount.

To this effect, Okoh suggested to his captors to take him to town to source money from a friend. But in town, Okoh’s friend said he did not have money as at the time, and Okoh, again, asked the kidnappers to take him to his GTB Bank in Abakiliki metropolis.

It was while inside the bank, with his captors waiting for him outside, that his wife and son came in search of him. At this juncture, the kidnappers, sensing trouble, melted away. Still, the kidnap gang continues to mount pressures on Okoh, and issuing death threats on him and his entire family if he fails to pay them the ransom.

However, the state police command, following Okoh’s petition to the police commissioner the following day, August 28, 2008, immediately, launched a high powered investigation into his kidnap cum blackmail. Okoh had, in the petition, called for an investigation into his abduction, as well as adequate security for him and members of his family.

Many, as it were, believe that Okoh might, among other things, have been a victim of blackmail from his education business rivals who feel that he had amassed stupendous wealth.

While the police battle to track down Okoh’s abductors and their sponsors, incidents of kidnap have continued to escalate in the state.

Engineer Donatus Nwafor, pioneer works commissioner in the state had his two kids recently kidnapped from a nursery school in Abakiliki. The kids were taken to Aba, Abia state from where the kidnappers demanded N1.5 million for their release. The magazine learnt that Nwafor parted with N1 million after bargaining with the hoodlums before his kids were released to him.

A former permanent secretary in the state, currently commissioner with the Civil Service Commission, Chief Willy Nkwagu, similarly, had his son abducted by one of the kidnap gangs running riot in the state. The kidnappers reportedly demanded N5 million ransom from Nkwagu, but Nkwagu was able to ‘cough up something’ before his son could rejoin him.

The notorious gang, within this period, abducted two sons of Chief Peter Oge Ali, former chairman of Ohaukwu council area, now chairman of Petroleum Dealers Association in the state. The bandits were to later call Oge Ali on phone from their Aba hide-out to demand N2 million ransom. Like his fellow victims, Oge Ali dropped some money before the release of his kids.

It is note-worthy that the kidnap enterprise in Ebonyi state is not restricted to the privileged class alone. Even journalists have fallen victims to this menace.

Strangely, the pregnant wife of Johnny Okoroafor, a media practitioner with Ebonyi State Broadcasting Service (EBBS), was, similarly, abducted on her way from work. Another journalist, Oti Ama, working with the state owned newspaper, Nigeran Patriot, had his child kidnapped from a church service in Abakiliki! It took spirited efforts from both the police and public spirited individuals to pull necessary strings to get the kidnappers set both Okoroafor’s pregnant wife and Amah’s son free.

All this was, of course, in addition to the recent abduction of Moses Nwakpa, a newspaper publisher based in the state. Nwakpa publishes Ebonyi Records newspaper. Nwakpa had, like Onaga, gone to drop off a visiting friend when an armed gang that lurked in the dark in the area swooped on him, dispossessing him of his vehicle and other personal effects before taking him away. Nwakpa told this magazine that he underwent similar excruciating experiences in the hands of the kidnappers. The kidnappers, after driving the publisher around, abandoned him half naked in a suspected shrine in the Ohaukwu area of the state.

Exactly the same scenario in Ebonyi plays out in the other states of the southeast geo-political zone.

Chief Ignatius Nnubia (alias NOWAS), an Enugu oil magnate, is, at the moment, on trial for alleged involvement in the case of kidnap and armed robbery. Nnubia is, in particular, incriminated in the sponsoring of the kidnap of Dr. Francis Edemobi, younger brother to Professor Dora Akunyili, former director general of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC), currently minister for information and national orientation. Edemobi is the founder and president of Paul and Grace Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Enugu.

Nnubia’s alleged kidnap syndicate was, on December 1 last year, smashed by the state police command, headed by Police Commissioner Sanni Magaji. Although the police, for inexplicable reasons, did not parade Nnubia and his fellow suspects before members of the public like other previously arrested kidnap suspects, the suspects were, at last, arraigned before an Enugu magistrate court on Tuesday and Wednesday January 13 and 14 respectively. The police, on the second day of the trial, slammed a five-count charge of armed robbery, illegal possession of firearms, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment of Edemobi on the oil magnate and his alleged kidnap gang. Nnubia’s co-accused include Emmanuel Okoli (46), Anthony Chigbo (48), Anike Ejike (28), and Okorie Ifeukwe (40).

The kidnap suspects, among other charges, conspired with some other persons at large to, at gun point, rob Edemobi and some of his personal belongings and cash. Nnubia, the alleged kidnap patron, was, in the third count, accused of unlawful possession of an English-made Barretta pistol, eight rounds of AK 47 live ammunition and 35 rounds of 9mm live ammunition without license by the inspector general of police. The accused respectively committed offences contrary to sections 6 (b), 1 (2) (a) of the Armed Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act, 2004. Nnubia, on his own part, committed an offence punishable under section 3 (1) of the same act.

After the charge was read, counsel to Nnubia, Chief Chuma Oguejiofor, argued that it was unconstitutional for the police to have held the accused persons in custody since December last year. But the police, represented by Inspector Ernest Eriagu, retorted that the suspects were kept on a ‘holding charge’, which Oguejiofor insisted was alien to the law of the country. Oguejiofor remonstrated that the magistrate court, presided over by Joy Okibe, lacked jurisdiction to try the case, especially, as it involved armed robbery. The lawyer, also, contested the first three counts of the charge, contending that they were brought under the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act, 2004, a provision, he contended, is silent on the jurisdiction of magistrate courts to prosecute armed robbery cases.

Oguejiofor’s contention, in the main, was that the kidnap and armed robbery case ought to have been brought before the state high court following the legal opinion of the attorney-general and justice commissioner. The counsel, as a result, called on the court to withdraw from handling the matter for onward transmission to a court of competent jurisdiction (which is the high court).

This particular kidnap case is a high profile one, as the state’s attorney general and commissioner for justice, Chief Nduka Ikeyi, even announced appearance in court (to demonstrate the commitment of Chime’s government towards eradication of kidnaps and violent crime in the state). Ikeyi, among other things, urged the court to remand the accused in prison custody pending determination of the case. And the matter rages, as Okibe’s court will, on the return date next month, rule on jurisdiction.

There is no gain-saying the fact that Anambra state has, for long, gained notoriety for Kidnap and violent crimes. At the moment, two business giants in the state, Chiefs Innocent Chukwuma (popularly called Innoson) and Pius Ogbuawa, are hauling allegations against each other concerning who was responsible for the kidnap, March 17, 2007, of two Chinese nationals and one indigenous staff working in an Nnewi motor assembly plant owned by Chukwuma. Kidnappers had, on the fateful day, stormed the plant and whisked off the three workers. Incredibly, despite the payment of a N20 million ransom to the kidnap gang, only two of the abductees were released back to Chukwuma. Feng Senyi, one of the Chinese nationals, is, over two years after, yet to be set free by the gang. Whether Senyi is still alive or not remains a subject of conjecture.

While Chukwuma insists it was Ogbuawa that sponsored the kidnap of his staff, Ogbuawa denies complicity. The affluent Nnewi businessman attributes his ordeals to a mere business rivalry, and accuses Chukwuma of pirating his products, with a view to running him out of Nnewi business community because he is a non-indigene.

Ironically, Ogbuawa himself was an earlier victim of kidnap in the state. He was, on January 28 the same year, abducted in front of his church in Nnewi and taken to an unknown destination. Ogbuawa was, however, dehumanized and, eventually, stabbed on the head before he could buy his freedom with the sum of N20 million amongst other pledges to the miscreants.

Ogbuawa, on his own part, accuses Innoson of, also, masterminding his own kidnap. He adds that Innoson had, earlier, hired assassins who invaded his home, and abducted his wife when they did not see him.

“The assassins took away my wife naked and left in my jeep and dropped her at Adazi-Ani and parked the jeep in front of Central Police Station, Enugu”, Ogbuawa recalled.

Amidst these bouts of conflicting allegations by the two business moguls, incidents of kidnaps and violent crimes in Anambra state remain a major source of worry to Peter Obi government in the state.

The scenario in the ‘God’s Own State’ of Abia is equally frightening. Assassinations, armed robberies and kidnappings, at a point, assumed an alarming dimension in the state over the past one year. They occurred with such ferocity and frequency that the police appeared helpless, the government astounded and Abians terrified. Umuahia and Aba are the target areas of the criminal operations.

It is believed that the criminals operating in Abia latched on the modus operandi of Niger Delta militants by taking people hostage and asking them to pay for their freedom. While the militants of the Niger Delta could easily hide under the age long agitation for better deal from government and multi-national oil firms the kidnappers in Abia were out for business.

Some of the kidnap victims in the state in the recent times include about five landlords, an Umuahia based medical practitioner, Dr Samuel Ohaeri (who reportedly paid N400, 000.00 to regain his freedom when he was kidnapped in last October), and Barr Larry Iroka, an Aba based legal practitioner amongst others. Patrick Obi, the state’s director of finance was luckier. Obi escaped kidnap by the bandits in the state. Recently, the police shot dead two kidnappers, took one alive and freed two women they were holding hostage for over a week at an Abia village lying on the border with Akwa Ibom state.

The rescued victims, Dr Mrs. Stella Chijioke and her sister, Mrs Joy Emeruem, said that they were kidnapped right inside their father’s house at Ikpere Ejere in Ihite Oboma council area of Imo State when they returned home for the remembrance service of their late mother.

In Imo state, incidents of kidnaps, also, remain on the increase. It will be recalled that Imo ranks as the oldest kidnap enclave in the country. The menace took its roots in the state in the 1990s when hoodlums started kidnapping children of the rich for ransom. This trend, popularly known as Otokoto across the country, has continued unabated till date.

There is no doubt that the various governments in the southeast states are not resting on their oars over the disturbing activities of kidnappers in the area.

In Ebonyi state, the state police command says it is taking stringent measures aimed at chasing kidnappers out of the state. But this magazine discovered that the police had, on one or two occasions, curiously released some kidnap suspects, alongside their sponsors back to the streets.

On its own part, Chief Martin Elechi government has expressed concern over this high incidence of kidnaps in the state. Elechi’s government assures that it would continue to join hands with the state police command to stamp out kidnap and other violent crimes in the state. The government, however, calls on the people of the state to be security conscious, and to promptly report suspected moves to the police for necessary actions.

Similarly, Barrister Sullivan Chime government views incidents of kidnap in Enugu state with all the seriousness they deserve. To this end, the government has declared that it would enact a capital punishment law for perpetrators of the heinous crime in the state. This decision was, in particular, taken at a meeting of the state’s executive council on the heels of the shock that trailed the abduction and dramatic rescue of Edemobi.

Dr. Jude Akubuilo, special adviser to Governor Chime on special projects and diaspora matters, explains that this measure by Chime’s government is to demonstrate the state’s ‘zero tolerance’ for kidnapping. Akubuilo notes that kidnap is a ‘cankerworm capable of derailing current successful efforts by the state government to re-engineer the state and restore it to its former glory.’
It was learned Athat it is as a result of this commitment towards eradicating kidnaps and all forms of crimes in the Coal-City state that Governor Chime, personally, intervened to ensure Nnubia’s alleged gang did not evade prosecution for their alleged offence. And Chime’s intervention is currently paying off, as further kidnap incidents have, for some time now, not been reported in any part of the state.
And just like in Enugu state, Governor Obi of Anambra state has been offering logistics assistance to the state police command in its fight against crimes and kidnaps in the state. Obi, some time ago, amongst other gestures, donated scores of pick-up vans and other security gadgets to security agencies, including police, army and Civil Defense Corps for the protection of lives and property of people of the state.
To demonstrate its seriousness in stamping out kidnap activities in Abia state, Governor Theodore Orji has even issued a shoot at sight threat against the bandits. The state has already made the crime of kidnap a capital offence. Having taken all the necessary measures including the deployment of the state Vigilante Service, popularly known as Bakassi Boys, Abia state government appears to be making headway in tackling the menace. According to the state commissioner for information and culture, Ralph Egbu, there is already a noticeable drop in kidnapping and incidents of violent crimes in the state since the restriction on hours of perations of commercial motorcyclists.

Unless the various state governments across Igboland continue to step up efforts in the provision of security and good governance, kidnappers may completely take over the geo-political zone, and wreck incalculable havocs capable of threatening peace and stability of the area.