How Uchenna Ugwuanyi 'graduated' from Okada rider to armed robber to kidnapper!!

Each day we read the news we learn of more and more crimes being committed,more criminals being arrested, more people being robbed, raped and kidnapped.. we bring you the story of Uchenna Ugwuanyi 30 year old Okada rider turned Kidnapper... the story when you continue...

A robbery suspect, 30-year-old Uchenna Ugwuanyi, has confessed that he switched from armed robbery to kidnapping because the leader of his gang, Ikechukwu aka IK, threatened to shoot him dead if he declined the option of joining the kidnapping gang after discovering that they were kidnappers. He said he had gone to the gang’s hideout at Ishawo part of Ikorodu, Lagos, to deliver some rice and noodles which Ikechukwu had sent him to buy in order to feed some of his victims.

 

According to the police, one Aliu, an employee of a new generation bank in Lagos was returning from work, oblivious of the fact that he was being trailed by the gang. On getting to a spot along Christ Church near the office of a popular courier company in Gbagada, Lagos, the four-man gang of kidnappers blocked his car with theirs and forced him to stop after pointing a gun at him. They held him as soon as he stopped and tied his hands and legs, blindfolded him and drove off to their hideout at Ishawo, Ikorodu.

 

Tunde’s family reported the matter at Ikoyi Police Station. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Aisha Haruna, a Superintendent of Police, directed them to write a petition to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, UMar Manko, since it was a case of kidnapping. Manko immediately directed the officer in charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police, to liaise with Haruna and track down the kidnappers.

 

Unfortunately, the family had already negotiated with the gang to pay N5 million ransom when they threatened to kill the victim if he involved the police. Hence, the family had paid the ransom and the gang had shared the money before the police got involved.

 

However, Kyari got the phone number the gang had used in calling the family and started working on how to get them arrested. The efforts of SARS operatives yielded a dividend on August 17 when they called Ugwuanyi to meet them at Agric Bus Stop, Ikorodu for a fresh job.

 

The moment he appeared, he was embraced by a SARS man who also gave him a handshake before other SARS operatives emerged and told him that he was under arrest. That was when it dawned on him that his callers were policemen.

 

Confessing his involvement in the kidnapping saga, Ugwuanyi said: “I was an okada (commercial motorcycle) rider. I operated on the Ikorodu, Ojota, Maryland and Oshodi routes. But I used to have special customers who paid me handsomely. In fact, one special customer could make my day because he could pay as much as N5,000. Hence, I would not need to stress myself for that day.

 

“I am married with two children, though one of them is late. I started working with the gang on October 16 last year. The first time, I took two of them to De Cool Hotel at Bolade Area, Oshodi, but they did not allow me to mingle with them or know what they were doing. They only gave me a reasonable sum and asked me to go.

“I was rendering them my services and they never wasted time in paying me. On one particular day, they told me to buy two measures of raw rice and I went to drop the rice at a face-me-I-face-you building on Ishawo Road. They normally came out to collect the rice from me, so that I would not be able to go inside and discover what they were doing. I was also not interested in what they were doing inside as it was not my business, more so when they did not waste time in paying me.

 

“The two persons I used to carry were Aneke and IK. It was IK who normally came out of the building to collect the rice from me each time I went there. Later, they also called me on the phone and told me to buy four packets of noodles and a loaf of sliced bread worth N200. They normally paid immediately I delivered the items.

 

“I interacted with them so much that they started coming to my house. But they did not meet my wife and child because they normally visited when my wife and child were not at home. Hence, my wife and child did not know that my new friends were kidnappers.

 

“After visiting me for about five times, they told me that they did not like where I lived and advised me to look for a better accommodation. They promised to foot the bill. The gesture made me to like them the more.

“They had earlier shown similar gestures. There was a day I took Aneke and IK from Agric Bus Stop to Ojota. When I dropped them at Ojota at about 10 am, they gave me N500 instead of the N400 I charged them. They were too generous with money. At times they would ask me whether I had eaten or taken any drink. They also used to give me extra money to help myself.

 

“There was a day they met me at Agric Bus Stop and I took them to a hotel in Oshodi. Instead of giving me N800, they gave me N1,000. It was the day they gave me N1,000 that they requested for my phone number, which I happily gave them because of their kindness and love towards me.

 

“One day, they called me on the phone again and told me to buy rice and noodles and bring them to the place as usual. But on getting there, none of them came out to collect the items. After waiting for some minutes and seeing the serene nature of the place, I decided to go inside to deliver the items to them.

“As I stepped inside one of the rooms, I saw a full grown man tied like a goat. His hands, legs, mouth and face were tied. I was greatly surprised. When they noticed that I was shocked, they were angry. They shouted at me to stop shivering like a baby. They also said I decided to come in because I wanted to know what they were doing.

 

“They then told me that I had two options – to be shot dead with a gun they wielded or enjoy the privilege of joining the gang. I thanked them for giving me the opportunity to make a choice. I told them that I didn’t want to die because nobody would take care of my wife and child. My wife was pregnant and must have been delivered of a baby by now because I have not heard from her.

 

“I vowed not to reveal the secret even to my wife. But I also said they should be giving me equal share of the proceeds from any operation I participated in. They brought out a bottle of gin and we took an oath. From that day, I became a full member of the gang.

 

“Before joining them, I had engaged in petty robbery, like using my motorcycle to snatch bags from women because their bags usually contained some money unlike men who carry documents. I also used to rob my passengers by stopping at a lonely place and ordering them at gun point to surrender their money or get shot. But the money I got from kidnapping was far bigger. Hence, I concentrated on kidnapping.

“When they collected the five million naira ransom from Aliu’s family, they gave me N200,000 only, saying I was still learning the job. They promised to increase the money they would be giving me with time. In fact, the one that made me to give myself to them was the N200,000. I was blinded by that money and I could do nothing again other than wait for their phone call.

 

“So, on August 17, 2012, at about 9am at Agric Bus Stop, Ikorodu, I never expected that my callers were SARS operatives. They tracked me with the number we used in demanding a ransom from the victim’s family.

“They called me on the phone and asked me where I was and I told them I was at Ishawo Road. I did not know that they were SARS operatives because that was how my special customers used to call me. They said they wanted to see me for another job. They said they had collected half of the money and it ran into millions of naira. They said my share this time would be one million naira.

 

“I could not wait when they said they were at Agric Bus Stop. I ran as much as my motorcycle could carry me. But to my greatest surprise, the people I met there were SARS operatives. They took me to my house and collected the N200,000 I had planned to buy a piece of land with. They even collected another N80,000 which was not part of the ransom.

 

“Please, tell them to return the N80,000 to my wife. That was the money I got from riding okada. I am a robber, but no gun was found in my house. I am a kidnapper too. I am not quarrelling about the N200,000 which is part of the ransom. What I am demanding is that they should return the N80,000 to my wife and let me face the music alone.

 

“I would advise commercial motorcycle riders in Lagos to mind the type of passengers they carry, particularly those who entice them with money. They should be careful when a passenger wants to pay N1000 where ordinarily he ought to pay N200.”

Story courtesy the nation newspaper