MY ABDUCTORS ASKED FOR N100M, I OFFERED N1BN - GUO MOTORS BOSS

The Chairman of G. U. O. Motors Limited, Chief Godwin Okeke,
yesterday, commenced his evidence-in-chief at an Onitsha High Court in Anambra State, presided over by Justice Chudi Nwankwo, in respect of his abduction by kidnappers in Onitsha on Sunday, August 23, 2009....

Okeke who spoke under oath, shortly after the court granted a motion
to file and serve additional prove of evidence with respect to one of
the suspected kidnappers, Alexander Onyinanya, filed by the
prosecution counsel, Chris Ajugwe with Mrs. N. D. Wilcox.
Godwin Okeke
He narrated his encounter with the kidnappers at the All Saints
Anglican Church Cathedral, Onitsha when he went for a Sunday worship
with his wife, driver and some family members.
However, counsel to the first and third accused persons, O. U. Uduma
and J. N. Okongwu, did not object to the prosecution counsel's motion
to file and serve additional prove of evidence with respect to the
third accused, Onyinanya.
How he was abducted
Led in the evidence by his counsel, Okeke stated that he went for 7
a.m. service which ended at about 10 a.m, adding that between 10.30
and 11 a.m., his wife mounted the steering of his Nissan Amanda Spots
Utility Van, SUV, and was driving towards the church gate when
suddenly, gunmen blocked the car with a bus in front and a Mercedes
Benz car at the rear.
Okeke told the court that before he could ask questions, the gunmen
started shooting sporadically, adding that even though he managed to
disarm one or two of them, they shattered his left leg, over-powered
him, drove away his wife and family members before bundling him into
his SUV and zoomed off with the abductors' vehicles following.
He further told the court that they passed through Awka Road and at
Limca Road, they met a traffic gridlock but his abductors shot
sporadically into the air to scare the commuters before they continued
their movement up to Nkpor junction where he said they met some
policemen and exchanged fire with them.
Two vehicles snatched
He said: "At Umuoji Road, my abductors discovered that their tyres
were deflated during the exchange of fire with the policemen and they
quickly jumped out of the vehicles, blocked the road, snatched two
other vehicles from their unsuspecting owners and transferred their
arms and ammunition, including 9 AK 47 riffles, rocket launchers,
machine guns and a big Ghana-must-go bag filled with loaded magazines
and live cartridges into the snatched vehicles.
"They continued their journey and drove through Alor, Adazi-Ani and
Adazi-Enu. On getting to somewhere between Adazi-Enu and Neni
communities in Anaocha Local Government Area of the state, they drove
into a bungalow, rounded up the occupants, who were mainly children,
locked them up in one of the rooms and kept me inside the living room.
"I removed my shirt and tied my bleeding leg as part of measures to
control the blood gushing out from the bullet wound. At a stage, I
became thirsty and requested them to give me water to drink. Two of
the abductors, Emeka Eze and Anthony Ifeanyi Okafor were with me while
others were outside monitoring movements."
He said the duo with him advised him not to drink water because of his
bullet wound but he insisted on drinking and eventually they gave him
the water which he drank.
He said: "I overheard those outside asking the detained children where
they kept oil, salt and other condiments because at that point, they
had started cooking breadfruit meal for lunch.
The third accused was my ex-employee
He said after cooking, they presented the food and he ate with them.
He said among those outside, two of them, a tall and short one wore
masks, adding that he could discover that the tall one, Alexander
Onyinanya, the third accused with mask was his former employee
"I could identify Onyinanya because he limps as a result of an
accident he had when he was working for me. I was the one who paid his
hospital bill when he had the accident.
I offered them N1bn, instead of N100m
"After eating the breadfruit meal, they praised me for my courage and
for accepting their food, unlike other victims who usually refuse to
eat during their captivity."
He said they now asked him to get ready for negotiation to which he
paid attention.
"They told me that Chief Paul Okonkwor, Managing Director of Pokobros
Group West Africa Limited paid them N70 million as ransom when they
kidnapped him, while Chief Anthony Enukeme, Managing Director of
Tonimas Oil Limited paid them N80 million during his own time and told
me to pay them N100 million.
"I replied them promptly that Okonkwor and Enukeme are millionaires,
while I am a billionaire, and offered them N1 billion, instead of N100
million.
"The offer gave them special joy as they now dropped their weapons by
the side, relaxed and asked me how and when the money would get to
them to which I told them that the money was in the bank."
At this stage, Justice Nwankwo ordered him to stop for the day till
the next adjourned date.
The court now adjourned the matter to November 14, 26, 27, 28,
December 2, 3, 4, 5 and 9, this year for accelerated hearing and
possible dispensation.