Residents of AMAC Housing Estate, located in Angwansawa Village, a suburb of Abuja were recently shocked to their marrows following the discovery of kidnappers’ den right inside a sitting room by the Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the command after a tip-off from the concerned residents.
It was gathered that men of the SARS invaded the kidnapers’ hideouts following the kidnapping of a nursing mother who was identified as Justina Uwakwe, by a four-man gang right in front of her residence.
Report says that the kidnappers blindfolded Uwakwe , tied her legs and sealed her mouth and zoomed off to their den through the jungle.
The victim was held hostage for six days by her captors who vowed not to let her go until the husband pays a ransom of N25million.
Further investigation revealed that some crème de crème of the society who were abducted in the Federal Capital were always kept in the tunnel (a pit dug inside the kidnappers’ sitting room and usually covered with a slab and carpet.)
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) FCT Abuja, Mr Usman Alkali, the command was informed by residents of the area about the dug pit at the Housing Estate where the kidnappers usually keep their victims. The police boss disclosed that following the tip-off, he ordered the Commander of SARS, Ibrahim Saidu, to lead the team to the village where they discovered the hideouts of the kidnappers and engaged them in gun battle. He added that two of the kidnappers escaped while nemesis eventually caught up the with two others.
His words, “We were able to discover four houses including the gang leader’s residence where they built an underground tunnel and covered it with slab and rug right inside their sitting room”.
Meanwhile, while narrating her story, Mrs Justina Uwakwe said “It was like a drama . I was driving my car into the compound when suddenly, I saw four men wearing masks around 7.30 pm. They told me to lie down and that I should co-operate with them. They jumped inside my car and took me away. They dragged me through the bush and told me that I should cooperate. They covered my face and tied my legs and I noticed that they took me inside one room and thrown me inside a tunnel (pit) and it with a slab and rug. “ I spent six days inside the pit and was being guarded by two men. I was fed with Indomie and pure wate,r at times once a day and at times, morning and night. They started demanding N25milion from my husband and telling him to pay the money on time. I told them that I am a mother of triplets. I started pleading with them. I prayed for them and they told me that I was very nice. They told me they didn’t collect money from my husband. On the seventh day, they took me to the bush and told me to find my way to the house,” she said.
Mr Roland Uwakwe, the victim’s husband said it was God that saved his wife from the claws of death, “ I received a call from the
They demanded N25million. I pleaded that I wanted to go round and look for the money as I raised N1.5m. I quickly went to report the incident at ACO- AMAC Estate Police Post which later transferred the case to Iddo police station before SARS took over the case,” he said.
“ Someone came to me and said that he knows one of the kidnappers . I took him to the officers at SARS and immediately they swung into action and arrested two of the kidnappers in their house.
“I was shocked . I saw the pit where they kept my wife for six days. She was released on the seventh day. In their confession, one of the suspects, Chibuzo Eze, said that they were four in number and that they built the pit in their room to serve as a cage for their victim.
He said: “It was through the kidnapping job that I built my house. We kidnapped the victim, Mrs Uwakwe and we covered her face and tied her legs and thrown her inside the pit and used a slab to cover it. She was there for six days before we released her on the seventh day,” he confessed.
Another suspect, Chibeze Ike, a native of Isu Local Government Area of Imo State confessed that: “We went into kidnapping when we didn’t have money. We told the victim to pray for us . She prayed for us and we didn’t succeed in collecting money from the husband. Our plan was that when we receive the money, we will give it to the leader of our gang who wanted to use it to travel to Ghana but we didn’t succeeded.” He added.
Still shocked and marveled over the discovery, the Angwansawa community leader Chief Thomas Kubari said he never knew such activities was going on the in the area: His words: “We couldn’t believe what we saw this morning. I know Chibuzo Eze very well. We didn’t know that they were into kidnapping and that they keep their victims in this community before they were exposed by the men of SARS. “They have been living in this house without paying rent for some time and I often saw the landlord running after them for rent. We thank SARS and we don’t want them to return to this community. We are peaceful people and we don’t want criminals in our midst,” Kubari aded.
Speaking on the incident, the officer-in-charge of SARS at the FCT Police Command, Ibrahim Saidu (SP), disclosed that when they got information, they immediately moved into action and urged the victim’s husband not to pay a dime as ramsom to the kidnappers. He stated, “We stormed their house and discovered a pit built inside their sitting room where they usually kept their victims. We learnt
Mrs. Uwakwe was there for six days before she was released on the seventh day.” Also, the landlord of the kidnappers territory, Mr Kanayo Obi, said he was shocked to learn that the men were using his house for dubious activities: “I only gave their sister my house, suddenly, they came around, and they refused to pay me one kobo since the beginning of 2012. They only paid me six months when they moved in, since then, they have refused to pay me again. I didn’t build an underground tunnel inside my house. They went and built the illegal pit and covered it and started keeping their victims there. He added.
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