- IGP moves to promote IRT operatives for suspect’s arrest
The office of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, has begun to liaise with the International Police to investigate any known foreign bank account operated by kidnap kingpin, Chukwudi Onuamadike, a.k.a. Evans, while he lived in Malaysia.
The police authorities have also planned to promote the officers who participated in the arrest of the suspect in his house in Magodo GRA Phase II in Lagos last Sunday.
Evans was resident in Malaysia before he had a bout with the law and hurriedly left the Asian country for Nigeria.
Our correspondent gathered that the IGP office’s decision to seek the assistance of the Interpol to probe and ascertain the bank details of the kidnap kingpin in the Asian country was informed by the large haul of cash in hard currency the suspect confessed to have collected as ransom from his victims.
The information about Evans’ bank transactions, it was further learnt, was now being sought by the police authorities in Nigeria to enable them to trace some of the yet-tobe apprehended members of his widespread kidnap ring.
“The police are looking at the possibility of using the details of his international bank transactions to track down the other members of his large kidnap ring still at large,” said an Interpol source.
Also, a competent source at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, told our correspondent that as the police spread their tentacles to arrest fleeing members of Evans’ kidnap gang, members of the Police Management Team, too, had been putting heads together on what to do with the cash and other articles of value recovered from the kingpin, who lived like a king before his arrest.
“We want to reward all the officers that made it possible to arrest Evans, while legal issues relating to the recovered property would be looked into at the end of investigations,” the source said.
It was further learnt that while the police were preparing water-tight charges against the principal suspect and his collaborators, plans were also underway on whether to pay restitution to his victims whose identities he had already disclosed to the police.
The source said that few of the officers, who debated the matter, supported restitution while majority preferred that the landed property of the suspect and the six cars seized from him be sold outright.
Our correspondent on Monday observed some of the cars recovered from the suspect and parked along the road to Sky- Power Club, G.R.A, Ikeja, Lagos, being watched over by two armed guards.
Other items of value seized from Evans include 12 mobile phones, laptops and sundry materials.
IGP Idris had promised to recognise hard work and reward gallantry amongst police personnel.
He made the promise during his inauguration as the overall police boss in Nigeria.
He had also warned that his administration would come down hard on bad eggs in the force. Rewards in the police usually come in form of promotion, special recognition and IGP Medal.
