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tundewoods (m)
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Here is the full story
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The story of Sunday Egwuonowu, a 24-year-old robbery suspect, is shrouded in poignant irony. He was obsessed with marriage and addicted to his 19-year-old fiancée, Carol; now, marriage has become a nightmare to him, and Carol, his nemesis, as the two have combined to make his life a misery. What a life! He sacrificed all to ensure he never missed his darling, but the same girl has deserted him now that he needs her most. Even the setting at the Adatan Police Division, Abeokuta, Ogun State, where he is currently having his honeymoon, is a sharp contrast to the world of fantasies he promised his friends. He had concluded the first stage of his wedding plans, and the whole celebration might be over but the hangover is yet to go away.
His story sounds more like a fairy tale; touching and mind-blowing. And save for its proven veracity, it could possibly have passed for one of the new releases from the Nigerian movie industry.
With passion and emotional agony, Egwuonowu speaks quietly and deliberately, bringing out words that could only be found in a truly meditative mind as he graphically paints how he became a victim of culture. He confesses to have gone into robbery to enable him raise over N300,000 to pay for his wife’s dowry, which has now put him in big trouble.
The transformation is amazing. Even his house, situated at Transformer Street by Okokomaiko Bus Stop in Lagos, which played host to an unusually large crowd a few weeks ago during his pre-wedding party, is just a shadow of itself now. A few weeks ago, the air was filled with the bubbling spirit of commemoration; now the only music he hears is supplied by mosquitoes in his Adatan cell in Abeokuta.
His neighbours are not aware of his location, while some believe he has travelled to a foreign country. And the very woman for whom the crime was committed has run away. He is now vulnerable, alone and very lonely.
Sandwiched between Emeka Chidi (alias Aboki) and Kelechi Uche (alias KC), his partners in crime on Tuesday at the Adatan Police Division in Abeokuta, he was a pitiable sight as he struggled to unlock the riddles of his life.
He had established himself as a shoe agent, selling shoes to his numerous clients. Despite his limited education, it was not difficult for him to convince and win customers to his side. But like a man facing the wrath of angry gods, he turned his own life’s glory to ashes; he tasted the forbidden fruit and he is now facing the consequences.
Societal obligations compelled him to relate with men of the underworld, who initiated him into a business deal that has changed the course of his life.
“I was selling shoes near Mandillas on Lagos Island and though the thing was bringing in little money, I was managing my life little-by-little and I was planning to marry my woman. But the problem is that the money I was getting from my business was not enough to pay for my wife’s dowry and I did not want to lose her. Nobody was ready to give me money. I tried all my best, but it did not work and I discussed it with my friend Emeka, who introduced me to Kelechi,” he narrates.
Egwuonowu was in need of about N300,000 to offset part of the marital obligations and he was at a dilemma until he met Chidi at a beer joint in Iyana Ira, a Lagos suburb. Chidi, a fellow shoe seller, later introduced him to Uche, who specialises in handset repairs. His journey of no return began, as that very day, Uche further introduced Egwuonowu to Israel Nwakpa, alias Aowa, a notorious bank robber.
Nwakpa, who had been declared wanted by the Nigeria Police Force for robbery, was before then serving with Mopol 20 in Lagos. He was said to have been involved in stealing in 2004 and had since been on the wanted list of the police until he was arrested by the men of the Ogun State Command on this fateful day.
Aside from his notoriety as a smuggler, Nwakpa was said to have been involved in many bank and hotel robberies, where many people had lost their lives in Lagos and Ogun states.
A very fearsome and mean robber, his dangerous attributes were attested to by Uche and Egwuonowu, who referred to him as their leader. This same Nwakpa it was, who promised to help Egwuonowu out of his acute financial crisis. “He promised he was going to help me but I did not know he was a robber,” Egwuonowu alleges.
Egwuonowu had his baptism of fire on the same day they carried out a bloody robbery operation at a particular hotel in Lagos. Though he claimed he did not carry a gun like his colleagues, the success of the outing seemed to have inspired him to go for more operations. He later became fully inducted into the world of robbery. His first operation fetched him N5,000 and five expensive handsets. He sold the handsets and was able to deposit some money for the dowry. “The whole dowry was not paid at once,” he said.
“I was not happy during my first outing with them. Though I followed them to the first operation, it was Nwakpa who was carrying a gun, I was not carrying gun. I only helped to collect handsets, and at the end of the operation they gave me N5,000 and five handsets. I later sold them to deposit for my woman’s bride price.”
The trio of Egwuonowu, Uche and Chidi point to Nwakpa as the leader of the team, who was deadly and dangerous and was able to use his proficiency in weapon handling as a former police officer to his advantage.
“It was Nwakpa that was directing us. He is the leader of the team and has mastered how to fire. He was the one who was carrying a gun. Kelechi, Emeka and I followed him to two different operations in some hotels, and it was Nwakpa who was our leader,” Egwuonowu says.
But Nwakpa dismissed those allegations as false. He alleged that they were equally involved in all operations, but the operations, he claimed, were led by a more fearsome man, whom he called Sgt. Tamuno. The faceless Tamuno, who was not even known by the trio of Uche, Chidi and Egwuonowu, he claimed, served with Mopol 2 in Obalende.
At the point of arrest, Nwakpa was found with rifles and a mobile police uniform, which he said belonged to Tamuno,
“The real person that has been leading the operations was one Sergeant Tamuno, who served at Mopol 2 Obalende. He led the operation where we stormed a bureau de change and collected money in foreign currencies. He gave me part of the money,” he said.
But the Ogun State Police Commissioner, Joseph Apapa, has described Nwakpa as a pathological liar. According to Apapa, the suspect has been linked to many robberies in the state. But Nwakpa was overpowered by men of the command, who combated the team to a stand still. Nwakpa found the security trap of the Ogun command impenetrable and was arrested with his team. The reasons given by Egwuonowu and Co. for their involvement in robbery have been described by the Ogun Police Commissioner as stories that were meant to deceive the unwary. He believes the boys were driven by motives, that are self serving and largely pecuniary in nature.
He also dismisses the allegation that the robbery operations were led by one Tamuno. According to him, preliminary investigations have shown that there was no Tamuno anywhere.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s surname, Egwuonowu, means “fear of death,” and like the biblical Job, what he fears most may soon come upon him.
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