This Is My Story - Chukwudumeje Onwuamadike (Evans)

This Is My Story - Chukwudumeje Onwuamadike (Evans)

● They said I am evil, yet I saved Uduji’s life

● I know the people who paid one million dollars and I kept them because I knew that they could afford it.

● Francis Umeh, he is a liar to say that he gave me a million dollars. If you sell everything that he has including the pant that he is wearing it is not up to N35million.

● Elias Unachukwu paid N30million and he struggled to raise it. I ordered his release when I discovered that indeed, he was broke.

● I do not maltreat my victims. I do not kidnap women.

● My wife only knew of my activities weeks before I was arrested

● My father never paid my school fees for once.

For years, many cringed at the mere mention of his name. Thoughts of him got instant trepidation sweeping through the minds of the rich and the affluent. Many terrified hearts would begin to palpitate wildly. To many men and women of means and might across the South East and South West, Chukwudumeje Onwuamadike, known to his foot-soldiers as Evans, was terror personified. His very name connoted trouble.

In Lagos, where he built the headquarters of his kidnapping kingdom, Evans was a dreaded name. Many wealthy men and women, it is said, quickly developed immediate high blood pressure as soon as his name was called.

But, an instant relief ran through many minds last weekend when the notorious billionaire kidnapper who had made life hellish for scores of wealthy and not-so-wealthy people, was paraded before the world by police operatives in Lagos.  He had been captured a day earlier, in his mansion in Magodo, Lagos State where he lived like a king.

And the sighs of relief aren’t unjustified. In his confessions to the police, Chukwudumeje admitted to having made a great fortune from his ignoble trade. The man known as the king of kidnappers reportedly told his interrogators that his usual ransom from the families of his victims was a princely sum of one million United States dollars. With the money, he bought and cruised about in exotic automobiles, adorned his corpulent frame with expensive jewellery and owned several magnificent mansions within and outside the country.   

Widely celebrated notorious kidnapper, Evans, has continued to give insight into some of the atrocities he committed while he ruled in the underworld. He specifically bragged that although people see him as evil, he does not maltreat his victims or kidnap women.

“God forbid, I cannot touch another man’s wife, check my record. They said I am evil, yet I saved Uduji’s life,” he boasted. Recall Evans was responsible for the kidnap of Sir James Uzochukwu Uduji, the Chairman of Comet star Manufacturing Company who spent three months in his custody.

According to him, the day he picked Mr Uduji, there was an accident that almost made the businessman bleed to death. “He refused to join us voluntarily and in the process of dragging him he had a cut on his neck. It was a deep cut that everyone was terrified that he might die. They advised me to drop him off but I knew that I will handle the situation. Most of the boys involved took off for fear that he would die. I was not bothered because my concern was the money I was to collect. I was able to control the bleeding when we arrived at my hideout in Ejigbo. I checked online and discovered that Rocephin injection will be the best treatment. (Rocephin injection is a cephalosporin antibiotic. It works by fighting bacteria and is used to treat many kinds of bacterial infections, including severe or life-threatening forms such as meningitis.} It costs me N4,000 per day to inject and I did that for seven days based on internet prescription. I also added some multivitamins and panadol to the drugs that I gave him. If I was heartless, I would have allowed him to die. When his extended family wasted time in raising the money, his wife who was in Canada that time called me and pleaded that I should let her husband live. She told me that she was in Canada to give birth and that God blessed them with a baby boy after several attempts to have a male child. That touched me. That was why I monitored him and ensured that he recovered. I only told his wife that I will keep her husband safe until she gets my money. After a month, she sent the balance to me and I released her husband,” he said.

On his other exploits in Lagos, Evans wondered why people are accusing him of collecting one million dollars from victims like Elias Unachukwu and Francis Umeh. “I know the people who paid one million dollars and I kept them because I knew that they could afford it. I have the dossier of all my targets. Elias Unachukwu paid N30million and he struggled to raise it. I ordered his release when I discovered that indeed, he was broke. I never supported the kidnap of Captain because I knew that he is a nobody. The boys who picked him used only a gun and he managed to pay N27million. As for Francis Umeh, he is a liar to say that he gave me a million dollars. If you sell everything that he has including the pant that he is wearing it is not up to N35million. I know him very well; he inherited his brother’s business. He only managed to cough out N30million. Donatus paid N150 million before the unfortunate incident that led to his escape,” he alleged.

Once a victim

Although he was dreaded by so many, Evans claims that he was once a victim in the hands of kidnappers in Anambra. In his words: “I had visited home with my G wagon and some criminals started trailing me. They got me and dragged me into their car while they abandoned my car. They assumed that it has a tracking device. I introduced myself to them and they refused to believe that I am the popular Evans. Luckily for me, I knew who their leader was and I demanded to speak with him. As soon as they realised their mistake they allowed me to go.”

WHY I RAN AWAY FROM EDO

According to Evans, he ran away from Edo State when police started raiding and killing most of his gang members. “We robbed several bullion vans and made so much money. In all these, there were so many people scrambling for the money and so many betrayals. Edo had the highest number of criminals in the country and all of them were bosses.

Most of the operations got the attention of the police and they started catching and killing so many of us. Some of the kidnap cases in Edo that I can remember include Kings Paint who paid N7million, Randeki paid N11million, Dan Odeti paid N50million and Uyi Technical dropped N100million. It was the kidnap of Uyi that led to the several arrests and death of most of us in Edo State.

“I ran to Ghana and rented an apartment in Tema, Ghana and moved my family over there. It was necessary because I knew that once police started looking for me, they will go after my family. If they pick any of my children, I will surely come out of my hiding place. I do not joke with my family.  I spent some time with them and monitored what was happening in Nigeria. I learnt that Ehis, a strong gang leader had been arrested and was in prison. With the arrest of Ehis, police felt that they had mopped up all the gang members.

“I came back in the same 2013 and rented a house in Lakeview estate, Amuwo Odofin.  It was then that I realised that I was wasting my destiny in armed robbery. I saw how successful most of my Igbo brothers were. They had little or no protection and were always seen at beer palours. I never knew that most of these men at Alaba market and Aspanda market were very rich till I started living among them.

“Luckily, one of our boys who survived the Edo raid called me. His name was Hunchman. He was one of the reasons police came after us. He begged for forgiveness and asked me to team up with him in Lagos. I agreed.”

SOME VICTIMS AND WHY THEM

According to the kingpin, some of his victims include Raymond Okoye; a business man. “It was one of my boys Uche that brought the job. To be sure, we monitored his movement and discovered that every other evening he normally goes to a bar to drink and returns home late. Uche made arrangement for the weapons that we used and he was picked on 21 Road Festac.  He managed to pay N40million before he was released.

“Because I was not the owner of the job, they did not allow me to know the place where he was kept. But at the end of the deal I was given N3.5million.

“The next person was Ucheson and he was picked at 6th Avenue on his way home. He ended up paying one million dollars after spending close to two months in detention.

“Next was Okija Man, who lives in Ajao estate, he managed to pay N60million. They wanted to detain him further but I told them that the man is worth nothing more than he offered. It was then another person suggested that we should pick up Young Shall Grow chairman. We monitored him and discovered his daily routine especially where he goes to play table tennis. Uche brought the equipment (weapons). I guess the reason I survived was that I was the one driving.

“No one expected that those policemen with him will start shooting. We expected them to stop the car and run away but they started shooting. It was when I discovered that three of us were already dead that I fled the scene. I was with the car that had all our arms. I drove away and hid the guns and took the next available flight to Abuja. I spent some weeks in a hotel and monitored the news till the incident died down. I later relocated to Ghana and stayed with my family. When I got information that the matter had died down, I decided to return and form my own gang. I knew what the mistakes were and decided to get it right. I rented two apartments in Igando and one in Ejigbo.

“All I did was to rent a shop in Aspanda and Alaba markets and started selling motor spare parts. This gave me the opportunity to mix in properly. I also opened a haulage company that carries mostly containers. My customers were the big boys in the market. This business helped me to know when they are doing well judging by the number of containers that they import. I decided that I will not collect anything less than a million dollars, that was why I normally detain my victims for months. Uduji was one of the successful kidnap cases that made me who I am today. It was also one of the most risky cases,” he said.

MY WIFE, MY DEAREST MOTHER

He still insisted that his wife only knew of his activities weeks before he was arrested. “I tried my best to keep her away from the real source of my wealth. I had established several businesses, which she knew about. I am not good with dates so I might not remember the date that I married my wife, all I know is that it was 11 years ago since my first child is 10 years plus. I met her when she was still a teenager and in Senior Secondary school. She was so pretty and innocent so I got attracted. Then I was a trader at Ladipo and was making small money there. I toasted her and succeeded in convincing her after showering her with so many gifts. Along the line, she got pregnant and it’s an abomination so I quickly convinced her family to allow me to marry her. They asked me what I was doing; I told them that I was a spare parts dealer based in Lagos.

“She had no choice but to drop out of school and moved into my village house where she stayed. It was after I relocated my family to Ghana that she learnt how to bake cake and other things.”

On media reports that his mother is responsible for the evil path he chose in life, Evans angrily warned his father not to spoil the name of his mother. “My father drove my mother away from the house for 12 good years and during that time, we were left at the mercy of his mother. It was our grandmother who took care of us while my father was busy womanising and marrying several wives.

“He was a bully to the extent that he beat up his own mother in our presence. He never paid my school fees for once. The little education I had was through my grandmother’s effort and since she had nothing doing we dropped out of school. What my father did was to hand me over to his friend whom I served for 5 years and he left me without a dime.

“I refused to be like my father that is why I am married to only one wife and I am giving my children the best. I have lady friends but I never intended to marry any of them. It was multiple women that destroyed my family.”