Posted by By Tunde Busari on
Harbouring a stranger in one‘s house could spell disaster, as Mr. and Mrs. James Okocha, of Festac Town in Lagos, have discovered, writes TUNDE BUSARI.
Harbouring a stranger in one‘s house could spell disaster, as Mr. and Mrs. James Okocha, of Festac Town in Lagos, have discovered, writes TUNDE BUSARI.
IN THE pursuit of his dream to travel abroad for greener pastures, Innocent Okpor, a textile dealer in Onitsha, relocated to Lagos after he sold off all he had in stock and closed down his business. He put up with his agent, Mr. James Okocha, the elder brother of former Super Eagles skipper, Austin JJ Okocha, at his residence in Festac Town.
It afforded him the opportunity of invading the privacy of the Okocha family. But greed later took a better part of him as he went to the school (name withheld) of the children of his hosts in Festac after school hours on May 12, 2008, kidnapped and fled with the kids. He later called to demand N20m as ransom for the release of the innocent kids - Makuchukwu, five, and Buchi, two.
But his tall dream of becoming a multi-millionaire from the sorrows of Mr. and Mrs. Okocha has now crashed like a pack of cards. He is now in a corner of the Ikoyi Prisons, perhaps reflecting on how and why he decided to choose to tread the path of a kidnapper.
"The idea of taking the kids came to my mind when I realised that the younger brother of their daddy (Austin) could afford to pay for their release. He had done it when I was there. He had at a time settled some money his brother owed some people, including me. He paid me N400,000 out of the N760,000 I paid for my travelling. He even promised to pay the balance when he came home. That is why I did it," Okpor stated.
This statement is simply as shocking as it is instructive, underscoring the complex and unpredictable characteristics of man. Throughout the period Okpor was under the roof of the Okochas, spanning eight months, his character never provoked any negative impression, let alone a thought that he would transform into a kidnapper.
He was well behaved, focussed and friendly to the kids. That is why he never had a problem taking them from school on the fateful day. The pupils were happy to see "Uncle Okpor" again after he had travelled out three weeks earlier without informing them.
The teacher of the kids, Mrs. Comfort Idika, was not fooled by the emotional response of the kids to the unusual appearance of Okpor in the school. She was, however, outsmarted when Okpor showed her an identity card bearing the photograph of Mr. Okocha authorising him to take the kids.
But the ID card and other evidence of authority flashed by Okpor turned to be fake. He was said to have made it for the purpose of dropping Okocha‘s name for his selfish purpose.
When the matter later turned to a crime, the teacher became a guest of the Divisional Police Headquarters at Festac, where she was questioned and detained alongside one Kingsley Igwe, who introduced Okpor to Okocha.
Okpor left no one in doubt about his well-rehearsed plan going by the manner he hired a cab, packed the kids inside it and bolted away to Ojota Motor Park, where he boarded a government-owned commercial bus to Akure, the Ondo State capital, about 300km from Lagos.
As the cab was connecting Festac with the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, to Oshodi, Maryland and finally at Ojota, the kids were at home with the ride, apparently oblivious of the four-hour journey ahead of them. Sooner than later, nature took its toll on them. Having been exhausted, they slept off.
Already waiting in Akure was Okpor‘s wife, Oluchukwu Innocent Okpor, a job-seeking graduate of economics. She had stayed back in the town after completing her National Youth Service Corps scheme in 2007. The 25-year-old ushered the kids into her one-room apartment at Ijapo Estate.
"After we got to Akure, they were asking me questions, but I told them that I was on the phone with their parents. I said they would soon join them. I then called Anayo, a member of the Okocha household, and told him the story. I also told him why I did it," Okpor stated, looking unruffled as if he was ignorant of the weight of his crime.
As the kids were in hostage in Akure, looking forward to the time their parents would come as promised, the parents in Lagos were writhing in pain, completely in the dark as to who could have thrown the family into such despair.
They were, however, shocked when Anayo opened up, exposing Okpor as the abductor of their children. This revelation earned Anayo a quick invitation by the police, who transferred him to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti Street, Yaba, Lagos.
"He revealed how Okpor had been talking to him on the phone with a hidden number and how he had played along, begging him to consider the parents. He told him the situation of the parents as regards what they were passing through since he carried the children," our correspondent was told.
Anayo has lived with the Okochas for the past eight years. It was learnt that he was an apprentice under Mr. Okocha while he was a motor spare parts dealer at Lawanson before the market was closed by the past administration in Lagos. His friendship with Okpor evolved owing to their living together in the house.
Perhaps, it was in the spirit of camaraderie that Okpor took him into confidence. The detectives at Panti went into action, baiting him by encouraging Anayo to continue his usual chats with Okpor. This paid off when Anayo succeeded in securing a meeting appointment with Okpor in Akure.
But Okpor quickly relocated the kids from Akure to Apomu in Osun State in the custody of an unsuspecting youth corps member friend of his wife. This, he did, as a pre-emptive move against the visit of Anayo, who in his calculation might be working for the police.
The detectives too were conscious of such moves. They, therefore, displayed a superior tact and did not give Anayo an expected close monitor on his arrival in Akure. They observed him from a far distance that could not draw any attention.
Yet, Okpor was on top of the event, detailing some people on Anayo to ascertain his motives. This cat-and-mouse game with Okpor lasted some hours. In the end, however, Okpor fell into the trap as the detectives swooped on him some metres to the road leading to the Government House.
While this was playing, the ‘youth corps member in Apomu had exhausted her patience with the strange guests deposited with her. She then went to the Divisional Police Headquarters, Apomu, to make a formal report, from where the matter was transferred to the State Command in Osogbo.
"We asked the young girl questions on how the kids were deposited at her house. She gave us a detailed account, which showed she did not know the intention of the person who took the kids there," the Police Public Relations Officer, Joshua Olayemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, told our correspondent.
Okpor, already in the grip of the law, having no place to hide again, started to cooperate with the detectives. He led them to his house, later to Apomu, then to Osogbo and finally Lagos, where the Okochas were waiting with all eagerness for their kids.
The re-union of the children and their parents defied description as tears of joy flooded their eyes. This was followed by a thanksgiving service at their residence, an event that drew a sizeable crowd of friends and neighbours.
'What do you expect from a family which had endured a psychological problem for two weeks? I pity them but they are happy, particularly now that the suspect and his wife have been charged to court," a neighbour said.
The suspects were charged to the Sabo Magistrate‘s Court on June 9, 2008 for kidnapping and have since been remanded in prison.
While Okpor was sent to Ikoyi, his wife is in Kirikiri. This was confirmed by the Police Public Relations of Lagos State Command, Frank Mba, a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Mba said that the command had intensified to free the state of crime with the speedy transfer of the suspects to the court of law as statutorily required. "We started prosecuting them as soon as we were able to get all our facts right. We particularly told the parents not to pay a dime as ransome when they became worried and confused of the situation.
'As a result of this,people should try to make a sacrifice in a situation like that. We‘ve discovered that payment of ransom encourages hostage taking. We will never condone such an act or any crime for that matter. We are happy the parents have finally got their children back," he said.