After weeks of being in the spotlight, Evans’ whereabouts is being questioned. Where is Evans the kidnapper? Nigerians wonder aloud as sudden blackout
After weeks of being in the spotlight, Evans’ whereabouts is being questioned. Where is Evans the kidnapper? Nigerians wonder aloud as sudden blackout descended on the case of Chukwuduneme Onwuamadike a.k.a. Evans, Nigeria’s infamous billionaire kidnapper, thus fueling speculations that he has either escaped or he is dead
Well it has now been gathered that Evans is not dead as his family now fears but was moved at midnight from the Lagos police command headquarters cell by about 30 heavily armed men a few days ago, to an undisclosed destination. Some senior police officers in the know say he has been moved to Abuja and that is all they can say.
The state police command also revealed that Evans is no longer allowed to talk to the press till further notice. The secrecy surrounding his whereabouts in the official quarters baffles those who have closely followed his story since his arrest. Police had last week said they have a court order to detain him for three months to give them enough time to complete their investigation. This was followed by two suits filed by Evans lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, at the High Court seeking his release and claiming N300m damages from the police.
Some senior police officers who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed fears that Evans might not make it to the court. They argued that he might plot his escape from prison, or get across to some of his members who are still on the run. Their concerns are not farfetched, given that several inmates in the past had reportedly committed such heinous crimes even while in prison.
“He has not been returned since he was moved out. Evans is a broken man; police can’t resort to extra-judicial killings at this point. He is cooperating, and he is ready to help return all his ill-gotten wealth as soon as possible”, one of the officers said.
Another reliable source at the police command said, “Evans is not an ordinary criminal. I guess that they took him out for further investigation but I don’t know why they are yet to return him to his cell.” The source further assured: “No one is planning to kill Evans. I believe that they will return him later. He could be in any good cell in the state for security reasons, but I can assure you that he is not dead yet. Even if anything happens to him, if he dies in custody, it will be as a result of cancer which he claims he is suffering from.”
Yet another senior police officer who preferred anonymity assured that Evans is okay. “He is okay and seriously cooperating with the police in its investigation. From the look of things, he might not spend up to three months in detention before he’s charged to court. As for his location, I assure you that he is in a protective custody somewhere out of town.” The officer who reinforced fears within the police circle, said that “a criminal is always a criminal,” adding that, “with the number of robbery cases and kidnappings to his credit, he is well known among criminals.”
He said, “Within the short period that he spent in our cell, he was already controlling inmates in the cell. They fear and respect him; we do not want to run the risk of allowing him to form another notorious group which is common amongst them.”
On why his family is yet to get access to him, the officer said that they are yet to approach the police. “A lot of his family members benefitted from his ill-gotten wealth, so they are afraid to come close to the police station. Evans confirmed that he bought a car for his father and also gave him N3m. The police will recover such money and properties. We will soon get a warrant to pick his father up and possibly his mother, who also benefited.”
The SUN
