AS police investigations continue in a bid to unravel more evidence on the escapades of Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamadiki a.k.a. Evans, in the world of kidnapping, residents of Magodo, Lagos State, where he was arrested in his ‘smallest mansion’ worth N130 million, have started giving accounts of what they knew about the lifestyle of the kidnap kingpin.
A close neighbour of his in Magodo (names withheld) told Metro that he was yet to recover from the shock of realising that he had lived so closely with Nigeria’s most-wanted kidnapper.
He recalled that he and Evans used to have their haircut at the same barbing salon at Shangisha, very close to the Mama Cass eatery.
It was learnt that he usually paid the same amount for the haircut as Metro source in order to take any attention of affluence away from him.
He was also said to be a regular face at the bar sharing fence with the salon, with those who sat around him before claiming that he never exceeded two bottles of beer at any given drinking session.
“He (Evans) is well known around here and it is a big surprise that he was wanted by police for close to four years,” the source said, while raising the suspicion of collusion, either with certain persons within Magodo who allegedly kept watch for him, or within the security system.
However, cab hire operators around Magodo and Shangisha were said to have been the biggest beneficiaries of his generosity.
Regardless of the distance, he reportedly paid high amount, making him very popular among them.
Whenever he was done with barbing his hair or taking his beer, he would, according to those who knew him, pick a cab to his Fred Soboyede home, a distance of less than 10 minutes, for a high amount of money.
One rule, however, was that the cab operator would not take him to his house.
One of his neighbours said “he always disembarked from the taxi at our area and would walk home.”
His mansion is part of the three on the first plot on the street.
It was also learnt that cars were rarely seen in his compound, with a shouting distance neighbour disclosing that “cars had never been parked in his home, which we now believe was to ensure he wasn’t being trailed and avoid being trailed at all through car registration.
“It was only yesterday, in about a year of him being with us here, that the house was without light. He wasn’t using government electricity. His noiseless generator was always on, every minute of the day.”
A police source, who pleaded anonymity, while speaking with Metro on the recent arrest of Evans, disclosed that he was also very popular in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he had choice houses and other properties in many parts of the state.
Another reliable police source also told Metro that Evans took police operatives to a mechanic’s workshop on Liasu Road, Ikotun, Lagos, on Tuesday, where one of his cars, which got damaged in an accident within the area, was kept.
However, a couple of high-profile residents had already made representations to the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the estate on how to sanitise the area.
Apart, from this, the police are set to spread their dragnets in a bid to root out more kidnappers in Lagos State.
“With the arrest of Evans, we hope to crack other gangs that live like kings in Lagos State,” the police source added.
and then