Renowned security expert recounts ordeal in the hands of kidnappers

. Says 2 of his abductors are serving policemen

BY CHIOMA IGBOKWE

It is one of the civic duties of law abiding citizens to submit to the police for check if ever stopped. As such, a renowned security expert, Dr Ona Ekhomu who is well abreast of this responsibility did not find it difficult to do that recently when he ran into a police checkpoint between Ehor and Iruekpen along the Benin –Auchi road in Edo state. The civil obedience however sent him face to face with death as he found himself in the trap of kidnappers who disguised as policemen.

In the company of his wife, Victoria and Chief Executive Officer of Thomas White Plc, Lagos, Emmanuel Obiyan, Ekhomu was on his way to attend the annual Esan Professionals Conference on October 18, 2013.

Determined not to be held hostage by criminals, Ekhomu engaged the gunmen who shot him in the hand before he escaped into the bush. His wife Victoria was abducted and later rescued in Delta state by the Joint Taskforce of the Navy and Air force.

Unfortunately Obiyan and Ekhomu’s bodyguard, Tajudeen were not lucky as they were said to have been shot severally by the gunmen.

Back in Nigeria after more than three months in the United States of America where he received treatment, Ekhomu who is now hale and hearty except for the scar on his right hand gave an insight on how he managed to escape the deadly encounter alive.

Trip to Edo

Just like other Esan professionals, Dr Ona Ekhomu and his wife Victoria scheduled to travel down to Edo state for the annual Economic Empowerment Summit organized by their community association.  On October 18, 2013, they boarded a 7am flight from Lagos to Benin. According to him “I was the Chairman of Local Organizing Committee of the event that was going to be held in Edo state. We got together to do things to improve the economic welfare of our people. This particular year, we chose culture and tourism. We were working on a strategy to boost tourism in Edo state. Friday October 18, was the dancing competition, while the next day will be the grand finale. We boarded a 7am flight and by 8am we were already at Benin. I had to wait for a while until about 9am for my car to come. Eventually when they came, it was only Toyota Corolla that came and I was wondering where is the Hilux. I knew that Edo is a high risk area. It was on the same Benin -Auchi road that Chief Mike Ozekhome and several notable Nigerians including a high court judge in Edo state, Justice Daniel Okungbowa were kidnapped and his fingers chopped off at that spot between Ehor and Iruekpen. Their excuse was that the Hilux was faulty and they did not want to take the risk.

“Meanwhile we met Chief Emmanuel Obiyan at the airport as he was travelling to Edo for the same event.  He decided to ride with us to the point where his driver who was yet to get to the airport will come. Shortly after the Benin bypass, we saw his driver and stopped. Because my wife was having a business teleconference I opted to join Obiyan in his own vehicle and left my bodyguard with my wife.”

 The ambush

The journey to Irua from the airport was smooth till they got to a well known police check point close to Ambrose Ali University. “Shortly after Ambrose Ali University, there is a road on the left that leads to Uzala and there is always a police check point there. We met a queue of cars, so we decided to slow down.

They were about eight armed policemen with their Prado jeep parked by the road. My car which had my wife and others in it was in front.  They asked the driver to stop while they waved at us to continue our journey. We told them that we were on a convoy and needed to wait for them. For more than 20 minutes they were busy searching the car and also extended it to ours. Suddenly, they ordered Obiyan’s Personal Assistant and driver to go over to the Prado Jeep.  I was busy on phone and was not disturbed because I felt they were doing their job.

Obiyan tried severally to draw my attention to the fact that they were wasting our time doing nothing. I tried to calm him down, rolled the glass and asked them what the problem was. They said that they were doing the normal routine check.”

He took time to observe and realized that the men were stopping cars on both sides and the commercial bus drivers who were not ready to wait quickly gave money.

“To satisfy my curiosity, I called one of the policemen and asked him what unit he was from. He told me they were from the force headquarters Special Highway Squad. I knew that there were so many IG special units and besides their formation was so perfect and their AK47 gun had police markings.

“Then I overheard one of them say in Urobo language that the driver and PA should be transferred to their Prado Jeep. I was surprised but waved that aside hoping that it is a coincidence. I have never come across a fake policeman so I wasn’t worried. Obiyan driver and PA left the car and two of the armed men took their places. It was odd but not unusual considering what is obtainable in Lagos.

“They immediately took control of my car and that of my wife.  It was when I noticed that they had started the car, I asked where they were taking us to and one of the armed men said police station. I said no problem, because I knew that once we get to the police station we could be able to sort this out. My friend asked me why I had to believe them, it was then that I dropped the phone and asked them why they were taking us to the police station.

“One of the men said that we were under arrest. It was at that moment that I knew that something was wrong. I lost it, and started insulting them. I used all kinds of foul language on them, I lost all restraint. As I was abusing them, I leaned forward, jacked the head of the driver, and covered his eyes with my hands.  My intention was to bring the car to a standstill. My friend Obiyan grabbed the other guy. In a split of second, the driver picked his gun and hit me on the fore head.

“He jumped out of the moving car, while I went after him. I knew at this point that he was ready to kill. In combat there is what we call control of distance. He came out cocked his gun while I rushed after him, and grabbed his gun. It was in the process that my hands got shattered. I still grabbed the gun and was dragging it with him while he was releasing bullet. I managed to divert the direction of the gun from my body while he was busy releasing bullets. I kept punching him and he was still releasing those bullets till we fell down.”

Race for life

At this point, Ekhomu’s instincts told him to flee before the others will reinenforce. “I scrambled into the bush like a leopard.  I ran like a mad man, there was no dignity to it. I call it ‘Igba Oso Ndu’.

I ran about 25 meters to the left till I got to a wall and stopped. I thank God that there was good vegetation as they shot severally at me. At this point my eyes were threatening to jump out of their sockets, my head was pounding and my mouth was dry. It was then that I realized that I was on bare food and I was bleeding

I knelt down and asked God to save me. I was scared. I listened and wasn’t hearing any sound. I concluded that they had left. I immediately applied first aid which was to tie a cloth on the wound. I knew that if I apply much pressure the bleeding will reduce.

“I crawled back to the road and discovered that they were still there.  I dashed back into the bush till I got to a farm road. On my way I saw a man, told him my story and he offered to take me to a hospital.  I picked race again, because I was not sure if he was not an agent. I finally got to the road and flagged down a bike who took me to the main highway. My plan was to walk back till I find help.

“All efforts to stop cars that were on the move failed as they were terrified to see a huge man all soaked in blood. Minutes later, I saw a military vehicle painted Operation Thunder Storm. I waved and they stopped. I told them my predicament and they said I should hop into the van.  Instead of moving ahead, they suddenly made a U turn. At that point I jumped out of the moving van and ran into the bush.  They came after me and threatened to shoot if I don’t stop. I told myself that God has destined that I will be abducted. They insisted that they were real soldiers, but I wasn’t convinced. They told me that for now, I am a suspect. But as soon as they started picking young men on the road, I knew that they were real.

“They drove into Ozalla road and we saw vehicles parked including Obiyan’s car. He was lying cold dead on the floor with his body riddled with bullets. I told them that I knew the man that we were in the same vehicle. The soldiers sympathized with me and I pleaded with them to wait for me, as I was no longer sure who amongst those policemen is real.”

Fears heightened

Rescued but still bleeding, the soldiers took Ekhomu to the nearest hospital known as Divine Mercy Hospital before he was transferred to Irua Specialist Teaching hospital. Instead of thanking his stars that he got to the hospital alive, Ekhomu said that he felt that he was going to die in that hospital because of the sorry site he saw.  For him, the problem is that most people die in Nigeria because they cannot get proper medical treatment.

“It is very sad, the floor had no cover. I was further traumatized by the emergency room that they took me into. They took off my blood stained cloths and gave me soiled rags to cover my body. It was very pathetic. If this is how a regional medical facility is in Nigeria, then I wonder what hope that we have.

One of the biggest morals here is that the health infrastructure is a big disservice to people generally. Their X-ray machine was dead, there is no toilet, and I was left with no choice but to urinate on the floor just like others did. That day I discharged myself from the hospital. It was then I understood why the only news that we receive from the village is that someone is dead. I never knew that all these were true and happening in my own town.”

As soon as he was reunited with his wife, they left for Lagos. “I felt better when my wife called at about 1pm to tell me that she has been rescued somewhere in Delta.”

Lessons to learn

Ekhomu insists that the government should be held responsible for sowing a seed of insecurity in the land. “Everybody is now blocking road. Why would the IG give an order saying that there should be no road block and yet everywhere you go, you see road blocks which they call stop and search?

“People are flouting these directives and nothing is happening to them. I could have been killed; it’s just that God had not said that this was my time.  A road block is supposed to be a tactical manoeuvre used to interdict crime in progress. If a car has been snatched, the police will create a temporary road block. Those criminals that we saw were collecting money from commuters and it was later confirmed that two of the men were real policemen. If there is roadblock in Borno, it is not unusual because we are at war over there.

There has to be a synergy between government security services and citizenry. Delta did that and it worked for them. Kidnappers now move out of the state to kidnap people. I appreciate the law that Adam Oshimhole passed but I am not going to wait for kidnappers to strike so that they will be hanged. In Delta state, vigilante groups have their own patrol vans.

“The first duty you owe your people is to provide security, they must be alive to pay taxes and vote for you. In the western world, nobody lives in government house except the president; this is why the governors invest in security. We are giving undue privileges to people.”

 

 

 

When they told me they’re kidnappers, I quickly grabbed my bible -Victoria Ekhomu

 

For Mrs. Victoria Ekhomu, when her abductors revealed their identity, she knew that it will only take a divine intervention to survive, so she grabbed her bible.

According to her “My husband had to join Mr. Obiyan because I was busy on a conference call. When we got to the checkpoint, they asked that we should clear from the road and park. I did not see anything strange about that because they were in police uniform.

“They asked my husband to go ahead but they decided to wait for me.  Our bodyguard and the driver stepped down from the car to attend to them while I continued with my call. They told them to open the trunk, after that one of the men came by my window and said madam, who are you?

“I said Chief Mrs Victoria Ekhomu and he told me that they were taking us to the police station. They took the keys from the driver, asked him to go to their Prado jeep which I thought was a police vehicle. I kept asking, what my offence was. When they suddenly made u- turn, it was then they looked at me and said that they are kidnappers.

“Exactly at that time I rushed for my bible because at this point it was only God that would determine my fate. I knew that I cannot try to be a hero at this time. I hoped that if I cooperate I will survive it. They took our phones and jewelries while my bodyguard was asked to seat at the back with me. I was still praying when all of a sudden, they veered off the road and the car doors opened.

“The next thing Obiyan moved over to my car and was hyper ventilating. There were gunshots and one of the men rushed to us and said that someone had been shot. I was devastated because the only one that is not in my vehicle was my husband.

“I was still staring and hoping to see what was left of my husband when I realized that my bodyguard and Obiyan were no longer in the vehicle.  I could see Obiyan outside standing in between the two kidnappers and dragging their guns. They overpowered him and shot him severally. I don’t know what became of my bodyguard till I learnt that he was also gunned down in the process.”

All alone with the kidnappers, Dame Victoria continued to pray. “Four of the men jumped into the car and sped off. I was forced to look down while they called a lady that the package was intact. They also called a doctor to standby, as one of the men sustained bullet wound. I kept praying till all of a sudden we stopped and I heard a voice query them. I lifted my face and saw Navy men who were demanding to know where they were heading to despite the fact that they were dressed like policemen. They now asked me who I was, I was about to tell when they sped off.

“Sensing trouble, the Navy guys came after us with two hilux vans. The kidnappers opened fire at them and they responded. It was a gun battle, I was terrified. The Navy guys punctured our tyres and forced them to stop but the exchange of bullets continued. It was a real life war situation. When the kidnappers realized that the Navy men despite their casualties were not ready to retreat, they jumped out of the car and ran into the bush.

“I was still terrified because I don’t know if it was a gun battle between two gangs. They told me that they are from the Navy and they are the Elite Force. I started relaxing when I discovered that all the things they were doing was positive. I was rushed to the hospital along side with their men who were gunned down.  They took good care of me and assisted me to get across to my husband.

“The way the Navy people were sent it was only God that could have done that. Even when I was thanking them, they said that I should thank my God as they were only doing their job. I was later told that it was a joint patrol team of the Navy and Air Force that rescued me.

“They also made arrangement and provided security for me and my husband till we got to the airport and boarded a flight back to Lagos.

It was only God that could have done this.”


Source: Sun

Publish Date: 

Tuesday, 18 February 2014