A dismissed soldier, Víctor Aduba, denied this Monday that he was an accomplice in the crimes of the alleged kidnapping boss, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans.
Mr. Aduba, a co-defendant, made the denial during the resumption of the trial at Ikeja Special Crimes Court in Lagos while his lawyer, Emeka Ochai, presented evidence.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that Evans is on trial along with Aduba, a former soldier, for kidnapping a businessman, Sylvanus Ahamonu, and collecting a $420,000 ransom from his family.
They face a four-count charge bordering on kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms.
Mr. Aduba told the court that he was a Secondary School Certificate of Completion (SSCE) holder and lived in Ojoo Military Cantonment.
He said he was arrested for the alleged kidnapping on June 24, 2017, and denied knowing Evans before his arrest.
“My lord, I have never been involved in any kidnapping.
“I saw the defendant (Evans) for the first time in a police station. I have never conspired with anyone to kidnap in my entire life,” he said.
The sacked soldier testified in court that he met Chukwuma Nwosu in a park in Anambra on his way to Lagos after the army approved his permission to celebrate Christmas with his family in Onitsha.
“After Christmas, while waiting to board a car to Lagos, I was in my military camouflage when a certain Chukwuma Nwosu met me and offered to drive me to Lagos because of military insignia.
“He told me he was also going to Lagos. On our way, we went through many checkpoints but they didn’t stop us because I was in my full team.
“We exchanged phone numbers and he told me he will let me know anytime he wants to travel so I can come with him. He also said that he has a truck, that LASTMA extorts him every time he breaks down on the road and that he will need my help.
“Since then, he has traveled three times and every time we arrive in Lagos, he gives me 20,000 naira and buys me drinks at the bar,” Aduba said.
The defendant further said that he received a call from Mr. Nwosu on June 24, 2017 to meet him at a bar, which led to his arrest.
“When I got to the bar, Nwosu told me not to worry about anything. He said they forced him to call me. As he was about to ask who forced him, five men approached us and told me that he was under arrest. I fought them but they overpowered me and took me to the station.
“I was in the cell for eight days. A man met me in the cell and told me to give him my personal information, which I did. Five days after that, he came back to the cell and took me to the counter and I met five other men.
“They took out a piece of paper and told me to sign. I asked if I could review the papers before I could sign, but was told no.
“One of the men, Mr. Idowu Haruna, suddenly slapped me dirty. Then they took me to a place called theater (torture room). While I was being tortured, Haruna hit me with a machete in my hand.
“Their boss, Phillips, ordered them to stop and they took me back to the cell. A day later they chained me up and told us to get on a white bus.
“After a while, they took me back to the cell. Three days later, one of the men who came looking for me in the cell told me again that he should sign some papers. I told him to let me speak to my family to inform them of my whereabouts, but he refused.
“The man said that I would be killed if I refused to sign the papers and then he took out his phone to speak to a man who introduced himself as DCP Abba Kyari and said that if I refused to sign the papers I would be killed.” Mr. Aduba said.
‘extrajudicial executions’
The witness further said that Mr. Kyari spoke with Mr. Haruna on the phone for a few minutes before hanging up, adding that he succumbed to signing the papers after Mr. Haruna showed him the dead photo of three men, including the Nwosu’s photo.
“I saw the dead bodies of three men on his phone, including the photo of Nwosu. They forced me to sign the papers because I was afraid.”
During cross-examination by state prosecutor Yusuf Sule, the defendant told the court that he completed high school in 2008 and enlisted in the army on August 15, 2009.
He said he spent eight years in the military before his arrest.
He added that he had never been to the war front and was in the music department of the Nigerian army.
The witness confirmed to the court that he was trained to handle any weapon and added that he did not have any documents proving to the court that he was tortured by the police.
“I don’t have any documents to show that they tortured me because they didn’t care about my life and I didn’t see any sign that there was a ‘theater’ in the cell but their boss said to take me to a theatre.
“The only thing I told the police was my personal information and my family information. I didn’t know where they got the information I signed up for,” she said.
NAN reports that Judge Hakeem Oshodi of an Ikeja High Court had acquitted and acquitted Mr. Aduba on February 25 in another kidnapping case along with Evans for lack of sufficient evidence linking them to the crime.
Evans had denied on February 4 that he had kidnapped Mr. Ahamonu and collected a $420,000 ransom from his family.
Mr. Ahamonu and his wife, Chimebere, testified virtually on December 17, 2021 about how Evans and his gang kidnapped him on June 23, 2014, at Kara Road in Osolo Way, Ajao Estate, Lagos.
The couple recounted how they sold properties, borrowed money and raised funds from family and supporters to try to collect the initial $2 million ransom demanded by Evans.
Ahamonu, whose hands and legs were shackled during his two months in captivity, was released when the family had reportedly given Evans $420,000 and he was near death.
The judge, Oluwatoyin Taiwo, adjourned the case until August 25 for the parties to adopt their final directions in writing after the defense had closed its case.
(YAYA)