Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore has taken a swipe at the calibre of persons that have indicated an interest in clinching the number one office – the presidency – in 2023.
Sowore, in a post on his Facebook page, said Nigerians can present alleged notorious kidnap kingpin Chukwudi Onwuamadike, aka Evans, as a presidential candidate with claims that he ran an efficient kidnapping business in the past and thus has the experience to rule the country.
“They will tell you that he ran an efficient kidnapping business, and that he was a philanthropist who assisted lots of people and that he was well respected in his community and that he’s got experience,” he wrote.
He was reacting to a post by Frederick Odorige who said with the calibre of presidential candidates in Nigeria, even Evans would stand a chance.
Evans was arrested on June 10, 2017, at his posh Magodo home in Lagos, marking an end to a manhunt by law enforcement agencies that lasted about five years.
The police said the suspect, who hails from Nnewi in Anambra State, was the leader of a highly organised kidnap-for-ransom syndicate who terrorised Nigerians in Lagos and other parts of the country.
He was first declared wanted in August 2013, after he allegedly masterminded the attempted kidnap of Vincent Obianodo, the owner of Young Shall Grow Motors, in Festac Town.
One police officer and three kidnappers died in the failed attempt.
The police linked Evans to the kidnap of at least 12 people in Lagos for years, collecting ransoms running into billions of naira.
However, his reign came to an end after a police special squad led by Abba Kyari, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), arrested him at his No 3, Fred Shoboyede Street, Magodo, Lagos home, after a fierce gun battle that lasted several hours.
Evans’ exposure came after one of his victims, a pharmacist and the owner of Maydon Pharmaceutical Company, Ilupeju, Lagos, Donatus Dunu escaped. Dunu spent 3 months in captivity despite the payment of a ransom of N100 million by his family.
