Witness Explains How Agbasimalo’s Suspected Kidnappers Contributed To The Abduction Saga

By Chuks Eke*

The Founder of the Oga-Ndi-Oga Foundation and Solidarity Movement, Chief Godwin Agbasimalo, has told an Ihiala High Court sitting in Nnewi, Anambra State, how two kidnap suspects, Chukwudi Odimegwu and Maxwell Nwokolo, allegedly played a role in the kidnapping of Obiora Agbasimalo, the Labour Party, LP governorship candidate in the 2021 Anambra State governorship election.

The LP governorship candidate was abducted on September 18, 2021, while returning from a function in Azia, Ihiala Local Government Area, and his whereabouts are unknown to this day.

In a Suit No.HIH/15C/22, the two accused, Chukwudi Odimegwu and Maxwell Nwokolo, along with others at large, are on trial before the court for alleged conspiracy and kidnapping of Agbasimalo, as preferred in a charge by the Department of State Services at an Awka Magistrate Court in Charge No. MAW/506/2022, on a two-count conspiracy and kidnapping.

They were arraigned before a Magistrate Court in violation of Sections 495 (1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 36, Vol. II, Revised Laws of Anambra State of Nigeria, 1991 and 315 (2) (a) (b) (c) of the Criminal Code (Amended) Law of Anambra State of Nigeria, 2009, and were subsequently remanded in prison custody, while the case file was transferred to the DPP for further prosecution.

As a result, the DPP filed charges accusing them of allegedly arming themselves with guns and other offensive weapons and kidnapping Agbasimalo against his will, after which they demanded a ransom of N1 million, N5 million, and another N1 million, totalling N7 million, from his family for his release, but have yet to release him.

Chief Godwin Agbasimalo, the Seventh Prosecution Witness, testified before Justice C.N. Mbonu-Nwenyi at the Nnewi High Court during a resumed hearing. He stated that the second defendant, Maxwell Nwokolo, collected large sums of money from him as a ransom in exchange for the release of the kidnapped LP candidate.

Agbasimalo, a cousin of the kidnapped victim, testified that the second defendant demanded and collected ransom money from him, including N5 million paid in two instalments of N2.5 million each. The second defendant also demanded four motorcycles to transport the victim to the kidnappers’ camp via an unpaved path.

The second defendant claimed to have escaped from an unnamed camp where the kidnapped victim was held. He came to my residence that evening to confirm who was kidnapped between me and my cousin.

“The second defendant demanded and collected ransom money from me several times, including N5 million, which I handed over to him in two N2.5 million instalments. He claimed to be in constant communication with the kidnappers and that the money was intended to be transferred to them.

“In addition to the money he collected, he requested four motorcycles to enter the unmotorable bushy path leading to the forest where the abductors were holding my cousin and bringing him out.

The second defendant, the Coordinator of Oga Ndi Oga Solidarity Movement for Ekwusigo Local Government Area, visited his traditional ruler’s palace with four other members of the alleged kidnap gang led by ‘Black Stone’. He repeated everything he had told me.

“He assured us before the traditional ruler that the kidnapped victim, my cousin, would be released once the money reached the kidnappers. To our surprise, despite all of the ransom payments, the Second Defendant has yet to use his promised close relationship with the alleged kidnappers to secure the release of my cousin and LP governorship candidate.

He stated that despite meeting the financial demands of the Second Defendant, who claimed to be in contact with the abductors, his cousin and the LP candidate have yet to be released.

Earlier, the witness told the Presiding Judge that the First Defendant, Odimegwu, who worked as his Personal Assistant and driver, acted suspiciously after collecting N100,000 to fuel campaign buses intended for a journey by Oga Ndi Oga Solidarity Movement supporters and well-wishers, but then turned off his phone and lied to them that the journey had been cancelled.

He also revealed that, following the victim’s attack and abduction, the First Defendant, who drove the kidnapped victim in the vehicle, did not contact him, instead choosing to inform his girlfriend, one Kosisochukwu, who told others how the LP candidate was kidnapped by unknown gunmen following an attack on the LP governorship candidate’s convoy.

The PW7’s testimony came after the Presiding Judge threatened to withdraw from the case if both parties to the suit made any perceived insinuation of a tendency to miscarry justice or tarnish her image.

The prosecution witness was not cross-examined after more than two hours in the witness box, as Justice Mbonu-Nwenyi, the presiding Judge, adjourned the case until Friday, May 31, for further hearing.