Dead-end for notorious Abia bandit

Biola Azeez, Umuahia - updated: Tuesday 19-05-2009

Dead body of one of the
suspected robbers.A mention of the name Chin Chung in any community of Abia state sends shivers down the spine of residents of the state. “Chin Chung”, 35, with the real name, Chijioke Ekezie, was widely known to be a hardened criminal.

He was said to be behind most of the heinous crimes in the state. Residents of the state said that Chin Chung was not in the habit of covering his face whenever he was committing such crimes like kidnapping and armed robbery.

Therefore, many of his victims could recognise him, though none would want to tell the or police or other security agencies.

However, on Saturday, May 9, 2009 , the notorious kidnapper/armed robber met his waterloo, when he appeared with a colleague in Umuahia to collect N200,000 ransom on a kidnapped victim.

“The kidnappers, riding a motorbike, had picked the money and attempted to escape through Bende Road, Umuahia, when the anti-kidnapping operatives shot at them in order to prevent their escape”, commissioner of police, Edgar Nanakumo, said while talking with journalists.

Many people in the state, however, believed that the abrupt end of Chin Chung came because of the strong spirit of a UBA bank manager that was allegedly killed by Chin Chung last Thursday.

The bank manager was reportedly shot while driving home after day’s work with a cousin that just arrived from overseas trip.

Meanwhile, the commissioner of police in Abia state, Edgar Nanakumo, has advised people of the state not to resist or struggle with kidnappers when attempts are made to kidnap them, just as he said that the command had killed the assailant of the bank manager, who was killed by suspected kidnappers, last weekend.

Speaking with journalists on Monday, Nanakumo said that police should be contacted quickly whenever a kidnap incident takes place, instead of trying to escape, saying that “the fact that you are kidnapped does not mean the end of the world”.

He said the command had rescued about 85 per cent of the reported kidnap cases since the menace started in the state, and urged the people to always report criminals in their neighbourhood since they may be arrested and prosecuted for aiding and abetting criminals.

The police boss said that the suspected killer of the bank manager that was killed at the weekend, Chijioke Ekezie, alias Chin Chung, had been on the wanted list of police as a notorious armed robber and kidnapper for months.

He is said to be 35 years old and an indigene of Olokoro community in the Umuahia South local government area, but resided in Onitsha, Anambra State and responsible for over 99 per cent of crime in the state.”

Unconfirmed report also had it that Governor Theodore Orji had mandated the Abia State police command, before he travelled outside the state last week, to nab the suspected notorious criminal before he comes back. He said the life of the notorious criminal was brought to an abrupt end with that of his colleague at the weekend, when they went to collect N200,000 ransom on a kidnap victim.

“The kidnappers, riding on a motorbike had picked the money and made to escape towards Bende Road , Umuahia when the anti-kidnap operatives shot them to prevent their escape. They were immediately arrested and rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia where they both gave up the ghost while being attended to by medical doctor,” the police commissioner said.

He said items recovered from them include three Nokia GSM phones, one belonging to the slain bank manager, and another belonging to a kidnapped victim. Other items include a sum of N200,000 cash paid as ransom on a kidnapped victim, a motorcycle, and a Volkswagen saloon car, among others.

Meanwhile, Abia state police command has arrested 85 motorcycle (okada) operators including police men who use their okada for business after 6pm , and impounded their motorcycles. The police boss said the offenders had been charged to court, adding that the policemen involved would be transferred away from the state as punishment.