Notorious Abuja criminal claims to be armed robber, not kidnapper

Chinaza Philip-Okoye, a suspected notorious criminal in Abuja, has made claims that he is an armed robber and not a kidnapper.

He made this claim during an interview with journalists on Wednesday, during a parade of criminal suspects at the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.

According to Philip-Okoye, he and his gang only patrol at night and collect cars, which they then take to Kano for sale.

He claimed that on the night of his arrest, their aim was to rob a man and take his car, but he was surprised when the gang leader asked the man to enter the back of the car.

He stated that he did not know why the leader did that and could not argue with him.

They were driving to Kano when the police caught up with them in Kaduna, where he was arrested.

The Nigeria Police Force had paraded Philip-Okoye on a stretcher at the Force Intelligence Response Team base, Guzape, Abuja, last Saturday.

He had sustained serious injuries after being shot by police officers following the interception of his gang at a fueling station the previous Thursday night.

Philip-Okoye was arrested by a combined team of FCT and Kaduna police officers in Kaduna when they swooped in on him and his gang members, who are still at large, while they were taking a victim, Segun Akinyemi, from Abuja to Kano State.

The police were notified of Akinyemi’s abduction when the kidnappers drove through Rita Lori, Garki, and Abuja on Thursday night, and all police formations were alerted within the FCT and neighboring states of Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi.

FCT anti-kidnapping operatives chased them into Kaduna State before other gang members fled, and Chinaza Phillip-Okoye was shot at and apprehended by a team of FCT policemen and Kaduna State police officers.

The victim was rescued unhurt, and his vehicle was recovered.

The claims made by Philip-Okoye highlight the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies in their efforts to combat crime in Abuja and other parts of the country.

Kidnapping and other violent crimes have become a major problem in Nigeria and have had a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of ordinary citizens.

The government has launched several initiatives aimed at addressing the challenges, including the establishment of special task forces and the deployment of additional security personnel to affected areas.

However, more needs to be done to address the root causes of the problem and to promote sustainable development in the country.

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