Kidnappers’ yuletide plan lands them in police net

The plan of four suspected kidnappers to have a rollicking yuletide this year with money they expected to make from kidnapping went awry  following their arrest by men of the Anti-Kidnappers Squad of the Enugu State Police Command, south east Nigeria.
The gang of four  led by one Ejike Samuel Ibe from Achi village in Oji River Local Government Area, Enugu State, used text messages to threaten prospective victims with kidnapping if they failed to pay the money they demanded.
Long before Ejike and his ‘boys’ fell into the uncomfortable arms of the law, they had successfully executed this plan against 15 victims and collected various amounts as ransom.
Ejike, the kingpin, sent a text message to the Eastern Zonal Manager of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, Mr Robinson Ibe, who is a native of Achi village in Oji Local Government Area, Enugu State, demanding  N1million to forestall his being kidnapped by his gang. He warned the victim that if he failed to pay up, he would not live to tell the story.
Unwilling to take the evil message  as a joke, Robinson immediately began negotiation with Ejike and succeeded in getting him to reduce the amount to N200,000.
Overwhelmed by the prospect of receiving mint-fresh naira notes which he didn’t work for, Ejike instantly sent the bank details of a member of his gang residing in Lagos, Chinonso Nzeribe to the victim, who paid the sum of N10,000 into the account.
Nzeribe went to the bank and collected the money with his ATM card and delivered it to Ejike. Now that their victim was firmly in their grip, they ordered him to immediately pay N20,000 more into the same account with a threat to kill him if he failed.
Once again, Nzeribe rushed down to the ATM for more ‘bread’ , but unknown to him ,the police had been put on red alert. This time, the bank as directed by the police, programmed the ATM to flash an invalid transaction message on its screen. Incensed by the ‘stupid’ ATM, Nzeribe went into the banking hall to complain. Once his identity was established, the police arrested him and he felt the hard coldness of handcuffs on his wrists.
As Sunday Sun learnt from the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abubakar Adamu, Ejike happened to share the same surname with Robinson though they are not related. Ejike, his ‘boys’ and the victim, all hail from the same village, Achi.
CP Adamu further disclosed that the arrest of Ejike’s accomplice  annoyed the kingpin so much that he sent another text message threatening to kill Robinson if the money was not paid. But the victim pleaded with the kingpin and requested for another account number.
Ejike sent the account details of another gang member, Onyinyechi Igbokwe, held in a second generation bank, and instructed Robinson to pay in N100,000. Still playing along, he deposited N100,000 in the account on July 25, 2013.
CP Adamu added that  “Immediately Igbokwe saw the alert, he went to the Enugu branch of the bank to withdraw the sum of N100,000 but  walked into the hard embrace of policemen from the Anti-Kidnappers Squad.
With Igbokwe  in police net, the arrest of Belumnna Alexander Chikwado, another member of the gang and their leader, Ejike, became a walkover. The police also found different SIM cards in their possession.
While the kidnap threat lasted, Robinson said he felt like a goldfish in a  glass bowl, petrified by the thought of what the kidnappers could do to him or his family.
He said: “It was like hell, but God gave me the wisdom to play along with them. Just like that, I got a threatening text from somebody, who said I should pay N1million as ransom. After regaining my composure, I immediately reported the case to policemen at Trans-Ekulu Police Division, Enugu. Later they transferred the case to the Anti-Kidnappers Squad. The policemen gave me confidence to play along. But the frequency of the text messages became so intense that I had to relocate from Enugu with my family for good two weeks. The kidnappers monitored my movement. They would phone me and say where they saw me. They would describe the colour of the clothes I was wearing and even my shoes. They boldly said they were trailing me. This prompted me to move my family out of my house.”
When the saga ended, Robinson was full of appreciation for the efforts of CP Adamu and his men, for the professional way they handled the arrest of Ejike and his gang. CP Adamu gave an assurance that the four suspects would be charged to court once investigations were completed.