Police lied, I never told them I was a kidnapper – Evans tells court

Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, also known as Evans,
on Wednesday denied ever making any confessional statement to the
police that he was a kidnapper.

Evans spoke through his counsel, Chino Obiagu during the resumed
hearing of his trial at the Ikeja High Court, Lagos.

He made the remark, following an attempt by the State Prosecuting
Counsel, Adebayo Haroun, to tender documents containing the statement
of the 1st defendant (Evans) as exhibits before the trial judge,
Justice Hakeem Oshodi.

The five suspected members of his gang namely: Uchenna Amadi,
Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu, Ogechi Uchechukwu (the only female among the
gang) and two Ex-Army officers, Chilaka Ifeanyi and Victor Chukwunonso
Aduba, who are also standing trial with him, denied ever making any
statement to the police.

Obiagu contended that the statement sort to be tendered by the
prosecutor was written by a policeman, Inspector Idowu Haruna attached
to Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team.

The counsel also objected to the tendering of a video clip, during
trial, showing Evans confessing to the crime at the police station on
the grounds that it does not corroborate with Section 84 of the
Evidence Act.

Obiagu said, "I object to the admissibility of this document because
the 1st defendant didn't make them voluntarily and I am also yet to be
served with a copy of the video or the Certified true copy."

While been led in evidence, Inspector Haruna told the court that he
wrote the statement on behalf of Evans, after he was arrested on June
2017, because the suspect claimed he didn't complete Secondary school
and could not write in English language.

Haruna, while being led in evidence, said that Evans and his gang
members all volunteered their statements under caution after being
charged with the offence of Criminal conspiracy and kidnapping.

He said, "I got to know the defendants when they were arrested for the
kidnap of one Mr Donatus Dunu- the Managing Director of Maydon
pharmaceutical company, who escaped from their custody at Igando area,
Lagos. When the matter was referred to my department at the IGP
Response Team, we immediately visited the scene where the abductors
had held him and discovered it was a well fenced and furnished
bungalow with two flats; just like any normal building.

"Having noticed that their victim had escaped, they gang abandoned the
house before we got there. We conducted a search and discovered
several Ak47 rifles (military version) and pistols which they left
behind. it was through our investigation and items recovered from the
building that we arrested Uchenna Amadi, who had ran to seek refuge at
Port-Harcourt. Amadi, during interrogation, confessed that Evans was
the mastermind and leader of their gang. This information led to the
arrest of Evans at Igando area when he was about to run out of the
country to Ghana. During Evans testimony, he mentioned other members
of his gang like Ifeanyi and Aduba, who are former Army officers;
Nwachukwu aka "Congo"-who is the agent and informant that sold
information of victims to kidnap; Uchenna Amadi and his wife Ogechi.
My team also made a video recording of Evans confession and narration
of all his kidnapping activities before and after he came to Lagos in
2013.

"After volunteering their statements, it was read to them and they
signed. I, however, signed as the recorder. Some of the suspects
recorded their statements by themselves but I personally recorded the
statement of Evans and Victor Aduba. Their statement was further read
to them again by a superior police officer, CSP Philip (former DSP)
and they all agreed to have volunteered without duress. Evans,
however, told us that he never imagined he could ever be caught
because he has no other means of livelihood apart from
crime-kidnapping and armed robbery."

After listening to all parties involved, Justice Oshodi adjourned the
matter till October 26