Chinaza Philip-Okoye, a suspected notorious Abuja criminal, has claimed to be an armed robber rather than a kidnapper.
He described the incident that led to his arrest by the police, highlighting his ties to other gang members who are still at large.
“I want to categorically state that I’m not a kidnapper. I am not a kidnapper. We only patrol at night and collect cars, and we take them to Kano for sale.
“That night, our aim was to rob the man and take his car, but I was surprised that after we collected his car, Yellow, who is like our leader, asked the man to enter the back of the car. I didn’t know why he did that, and I couldn’t argue with him, so we were driving to Kano before the police caught up with us in Kaduna, where I was arrested.”
Last Saturday, the Nigeria Police Force paraded Philip Okoye on a stretcher at the Force Intelligence Response Team base in Guzape, Abuja.
According to reports, Chinaza suffered significant injuries after being shot by police officers when his group was apprehended at a fueling station last Thursday night.
Philip-Okoye was arrested in Kaduna by a mixed squad of FCT and Kaduna police officers who swooped on him and his gang members (who are still at large) while transporting a victim, Segun Akinyemi, from Abuja to Kano State.
When the kidnappers traveled through Rita Lori, Garki, and Abuja on Thursday night, all police formations in the FCT and neighboring states of Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi were alerted.
“We were informed of Akinyemi’s abduction when the kidnappers drove through Rita Lori in Garki, so the FCT Police Command alerted all police formations in the FCT and neighboring states of Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi.
“So, 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, and the victim was rescued unhurt and his vehicle recovered,” a senior police source disclosed.
