ON July 22, 2012, 20-year old Chizoba Nnozirim visited the corporate headquarters of Vanguard at Kirikiri canal, Apapa, Lagos, looking pale. But she was not alone. She came in the company of her mother, three relatives and a man who later introduced himself as Evangelist Udochukwu Ben.
Four days before the visit, Chizoba’s relatives had visited Vanguard to inform about the disappearance of Chizoba, who was said to have last been seen after her boss gave her the sum of N500,000 to deposit into the bank.
During an interview session with Crime Alert, she claimed that some men approached her as she was about entering the bank and asked her to direct them to a place. But according to her, “as I attempted to see what was scribbled on the paper, one of them blew a powdery substance into my face and I lost consciousness.
Uncompleted building
“Like a dummy, I followed him into a car where I found three other men. I was driven to an uncompleted building where they used a white handkerchief to clean my face before I regained consciousness. While there, they asked why my madam said she gave me the sum of N600,000 instead of N500,000 and I was shocked on how they knew about the minor argument that ensued between me and my madam before I left for the bank.
*Chizoba & Evangelist Ben
“The next bomb they dropped was that they won’t release me until my madam comes. I begged them to let me go, that I was not in any way related to my madam, that I was only her salesgirl. I even tried to explain to them that I am from Imo while she is from Anambra.
It was at that point that one of them landed a slap across my face, ordering me to be quiet and at the same time asking what gave me the effrontery to speak when they were speaking. The next day, they brought food and water for me but I did not touch it.
All I needed was for them to release me because I knew the trauma my mother would be going through. While there, my madam called me and they asked me not to pick her calls. Then, I overheard them saying they would release me on Sunday since my madam did not show up. But because I had lost count of the date and days, I did not know when would be Sunday.”
She further claimed to have been blindfolded by her abductors and thereafter driven to Mile 2, along the Oshodi /Apapa Expressway from where Evangelist Ben met her and volunteered to take her home.
But during investigation by operatives at X-Squad, it was discovered that Chizoba misled everyone with her account. In the first instance, it was discovered that while she claimed to have been abducted by some unknown men and kept in an uncompleted building in Apapa area from where she spoke to her relatives on phone, she was actually with her boyfriend, one Ikechukwu.
Investigation by the operatives also absolved Chizoba’s boss, Mrs Veronica Ogbuchi, the Director of CLEMENS Investment Nigeria Limited and her husband, Mr. Clement, over earlier perception by the family during her disappearance that there could be more to the disappearance than meets the eyes.
Another startling discovery by the operatives was that Evangelist Ben who claimed to have found Chizoba at Mile Two was an alleged accomplice in Chizoba’s disappearance.
Alleged accomplice
Police sources hinted that: “We started first by collecting her phone from her and when we checked the call log from the network she uses, we discovered that a particular person had been calling her before the day she was given the money.
And when we asked her, she opened up and told us that the N500,000 was collected by conmen. She gave the name of the woman who collected the money from her as Iya Opeyemi. She was told to bring the money in order to get ten million naira.
In fact, in one of the conversations, she asked when she would come for the N10 million they promised her. Rather than going back to her boss, she went to her boyfriend, one Ikechukwu, with whom she remained for days. She fooled everyone by saying she was abducted by an unknown person. It was when we were making plans to check the call log that she resurfaced with the Evangelist, who claimed he met her at Mile 2.
But with this revelation, it was discovered that the Evangelist is a cousin to Chizoba’s friend. He only used that as a ploy to deceive everyone,” Police sources said.
Chizoba’s family as gathered, had made a payment of N150,000. The case was charged to court 7, Ikeja, Monday where Chizoba was remanded in prison custody over failure to meet with the bail condition, with the case adjourned to September 14, 2012.
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