Billionaire transporter and 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
“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
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