Two gang members of the notorious kidnap kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike alias Evans,have been sentenced to 41 years in prison each for kidnapping and armed robbery.
The convicts – Kelvin Emenike Ukoh (32) and Emeka Obasi (33) – were jailed for the kidnap of Mr. Ugoje Jude, a shipping agent, and Miss Piriye Gogo, on August 3, 2012 about 9p.m., which Evans also reportedly participated in.
On August 3, 2012, the gang abducted a 34-year-old Director with Ocean Glory, Paul Cole, who hails from Ohafia in Abia State, at Festac Town, alongside his General Manager, Jude, and Gogo, and taken to an unknown destination by Evans.
The abductors initially demanded N10 million but later collected N5 million on August 6, 2012, after negotiations at Maza-Maza, before freeing their victims. But the police later arrested the two convicts and arraigned them sometime in 2013 alongside three others – Uche Igbani (28), Chibuzor Osuagwu (33) and a 36-year-old woman, Onowu Ngozi – on a 14-count charge bothering on conspiracy, kidnapping, armed robbery and murder.
The state prosecuting counsel, Mrs. K. O. Sarumi, told the court that the convicts abducted the victims at gunpoint at Alakija into 7th Avenue, while driving home in a Honda Pilot car and took them to an unidentified location.
However, narrating her ordeal, Gogo had earlier told the court that three men accosted them with rifles on their way home and was almost raped inside the car, but was saved by her monthly menstruation.
Gogo, during her evidence- in-chief, said that during the abduction, one of the kidnappers, Obasi, came into the car, after dragging her boss out for negotiation at an undisclosed location, and started fondling her breast. She said:
“He came into the car, tore my clothes, pulled down a side of my bra and began caressing my breast. He thereafter started dragging down my shirt and I began begging him.
I begged him until I had nothing else I could plead with. I begged him intensely for mercy and even told him that I was menstruating.”
However, Justice Taiwo convicted and sentenced Ukoh and Obasi to 5, 15 and 21 years for conspiracy, kidnapping and armed robbery respectively. But the court discharged and acquitted the three others.
The judge said that the prosecution could not prove beyond reasonable doubt the nexus linking the other three – Igbani, Osuagwu, Ngozi – to the alleged charges of murder, conspiracy, kidnapping and armed robbery.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
