‘If you’re reading my story, don’t ever kidnap’

Chigozie Ideh and Ope Dada are members of the 10-man- gang that kidnapped Mr. Kuang Vingjun, a chinese national and senior staff of ZTE Nigeria Limited, where a ransom of N8 million  was collected. In this heart to heart interview with FOLAKE SOKOYA, Chigozie and Ope explained their roles in the game, revealing what compelled them to participate in the kidnapping. Excerpts:
What is your name and where are you from?
I am Chigozie Ideh and I am from Anambra State.
What do you do for a living? Are you married? If yes, how many kids do you have?
Yes, I am married with three children and my wife is heavily pregnant with the fourth child. I am a building contractor.
How old are you?
I am 32 years old.
What is your role in this kidnapping saga and why did you join the gang?
I got involved in kidnapping through Taiwo who was my neighbour in Epe. He was a taxi driver then. After about six years that he had moved out of the house where we were neighbours, I met him in the area and exchanged phone numbers.
We started communicating again. Not long after, this January to be precise, I got a job somewhere in Ikoyi, at a bank.  I invited Taiwo to do labour job because he had been telling me that he didn’t have any job at hand. Then one day, he told me that there was a man he was planning to kidnap at a place he had worked before, at Osborne Street. I thought within myself, that it was impossible!  I asked him how he intended to carry out such task and he told me not to worry, that the only task he had for me was to make a call after the man had been kidnapped.
I said that was okay by me. I only accepted to make the call because as at that time, I was seriously in need of money. He also told me that he had an insider in the company where he intended to kidnap the man.
I consented to be part of the kidnapping group. Taiwo started carrying me along, just for me to know how serious he was about kidnapping the man. He told me he had gotten a vehicle to use in kidnapping the man. When he got the vehicle, he eventually succeeded in kidnapping the man and I was asked to call the man’s brother to ask for ransom after the man had been hidden somewhere in Taiwo’s area.
When I made the call, we demanded for N30 million but ended up getting N8,500, 000, 00 and the man was released.
How did you get the money, was it paid into one of your gang members’ bank account?
The money was along the road for us to pick. I wasn’t there when they went to kidnap the man, pick the money or even when the money was shared. It was Taiwo who told me that he and three others went to pick the money when he came to give me my share.
How many kidnappings have you done?
That was the only one I joined them to do and it was in January. I even told Taiwo not to call me for such business again! That I will never join him to do such a thing again, that I agreed to join in this one because I needed money desperately that time.
How do you feel now that you have been arrested?
I feel seriously ashamed of myself. I was arrested at my place of work. People there protested that I could never do kidnapping business because they all knew that I was a very hard working person.
I feel so sad because I can’t even account for how I spent my share of the money. The car I bought to start a car hire business, had accident and it was a complete write-off! I paid some debts I owed as at that time. I am really ashamed of myself. In fact, I’m a disgrace to my family. None of my family members believed their ears when I called them and told them why I was arrested.
Aside from Taiwo, who else do you know in your gang?
I only know Taiwo who is my friend because we had lived together in the same compound before. It was when I was arrested and brought to the station that I met others that were involved.
Tell me how you got caught up in this kidnapping saga?
My name is Ope Dada; I am 25-year-old. I attended Government Technical College Epe and I am from Lagos State.
I got to know Mr. Taiwo when a friend of mine, Rotimi by name, introduced him to me as an agent. I was desperately looking for a job and was happy when my friend introduced me to him. He promised to get me a job but asked me to pay a consultation fee of N2, 000 which I gladly sourced for and paid.
After paying the fee, I started disturbing him for weeks but decided to let him be when he didn’t fulfil his promise. I also wasn’t seeing him around the area anymore. That was sometimes last year. Then in February this year, I stumbled on him.  I challenged him to refund my money back since he was unable to get me a job. After much pleading and explanations, I decided to let him go but that was after he had made another promise to visit me at home.
True to his words, days after, he visited me. I quickly called my friend that introduced me to him to come and see Mr. Taiwo who duped me. When my friend came, again Mr. Taiwo pleaded with me to forget about the money, that he had a business proposal for us.
He then asked us if we knew of any of the student around who owned or had access to a gun. I told him I had no idea of anybody who had a gun. So he left. About three days later, he invited me to his house and on getting there, he told me that they have kidnapped a white man and that he wanted me to help pick the ransom at the expressway.
Unfortunately, I didn’t   really know the area very well and so could not get the location of where he asked me to pick the ransom. I was left at home. It was Mr. Taiwo and my friend who introduced him to me who went to pick the ransom themselves.
I also knew a boy, Abbey; he is like a brother to Mr. Taiwo.  It was Abbey and another man whom I didn’t know that went to pick the ransom, while I waited for them at Mr. Taiwo’s house. They came back with the money about an hour later. I was given N600, 000, because I told them I already had South Africa’s visa but no money to buy the ticket to travel.
After he had given me the money, he said I should never contact him for anything again because I didn’t have the heart for the business. And since then, I had neither seen nor contacted him till I was arrested some days ago when he called to ask where I was. He told me that he was in my house. I told him I was on my way home too because if not for the fact that he said he was in my house, I usually tell him that I was not in town. I was on my way to the house to meet him when I was arrested by the police.
What exactly was your role in the business?
I was asked to just stand somewhere on the expressway since I wasn’t familiar enough with the area to go pick the ransom. I think I was just used to monitor the people coming to drop the money.
Where you privileged to see the white man that was kidnapped?
Yes I saw the man.  He was kept somewhere not far from Mr. Taiwo’s house. It was the third day after he was kidnapped that I was invited to Mr. Taiwo’s house. I was informed about the kidnapping of the white man.
Any regret?
Yes!  I regret not reporting to the police when Mr. Taiwo asked me if I knew somebody who had a gun and when I was told that they had kidnapped a white man. I guessed it was because I was too desperate to get money to travel and till now, I haven’t being able to achieve my aim. I only ended up in police net. People out there reading this should please not get involved in shady and illegal dealings like kidnapping. I really regret getting involved.