Everything You Should Know About Nigeria’s Richest And Most Wanted Kidnapper, Evans

Nigeria’s most wanted kidnapper, ticked to be the richest among such alleged criminals has been arrested in Magodo area of Lagos state, western Nigeria.

His real name is Chukwudidumeme Onuamadike, aged 36, and hails from Umudim Village, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The Inspector-General’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) led by ACP Abba Kyari on Saturday June 10th said the notorious kidnapper was arrested at his Magodo residence in Lagos.

Kyari said:

“IRT headquarters in Abuja is celebrating the arrest of the most wanted brilliant and notorious high profile kidnapper in Nigeria.

“He has collected several billions of Naira as ransom in the last seven years as the kingpin of kidnappers.

“He was arrested at about 1.00p.m on Saturday in his residence in Magodo Estate, Lagos,” #

He commended the Force Headquarters for mobilising the resources to go all out against the “richest and most notorious kidnapper” in the history of Nigeria.

Kyari said the Inspector-General had directed that the suspect should be paraded before newsmen on Sunday June 11th in Lagos

Evans was first declared wanted in August, 2013 when he masterminded the attempted kidnap of Chief Vincent Obianudo, the owner of Young Shall Grow Motors in Festac, Lagos, where a policeman attached to the victim foiled the attack and killed three of Evans’ gang members but also lost his life in the process.

He was said to have masterminded kidnapping operations in Anambra, Edo and Lagos, with Lagos placing a 30 Million Naira bounty on him.

Evans told newsmen that he started the business of kidnapping in 2015, after he left his spare parts business after he lost N20 million to customs officers, which made him to leave his trade.

The suspect was arrested in his mansion in Magodo area of the state on Saturday.

He wasn’t sure of how many people he had kidnapped, said the highest he had collected as ransom was one million dollars.

According to him:

“I can’t figure out how much I have collected so far or how many people I have kidnapped, but I have kidnapped up to 10 since 2015. I choose to collect ransom in dollars to be different, and the maximum I have collected as ransom so far is 1 million dollars.

“I work in two groups, a team moves with me to kidnap victims while we hand over to the other team that takes the victim to the hide out. Kinsley introduced me to kidnapping, but I usually get my ammunition from one Chinedu and Ehis whom I met at Ago-Iwoye. I also do drug business that enabled me to buy my property,”

The police had previously traced the wanted kidnapper to his hideout at Igando area of Lagos but he escaped before they arrived, abandoning a catchment of arms.

The recovered arms included:

Four AK-47 riffles; two automatic pistols; four magazines loaded with 60 rounds of ammunitions each; 1,272 ammunition, 59 AK-47 ammunition; a police bullet-proof vest; a Toyota Hiace bus, suspected to be the gang’s operational vehicle, and a motorcycle

Known for his lavish lifestyle, Evans was fond of splashing his ill-gotten money on luxury goods instead of depositing the money in the bank so as not to attract attention.

Preliminary investigation further revealed that he once bought a wristwatch for $170,000, three phones for $6,000 each, two houses in Magodo Estate, and two other house in Ghana, where he is also a citizen.

During his confession, Evans said he bought his two homes in Magodo for N130 million and N70 million, adding that he also owns two four-bedroom houses in Ghana.

He is said to be married with four wives, with none living with him in the Magodo hideout. Evans reportedly has another house in Igando. He was said to be living large despite being in hiding, completely disconnected from the national grid.

Here are photos of the recovered ammunition and his mansions: