Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ewa, also known as “John Lion, ‘the accused mastermind of a string of high-profile kidnappings in Bayelsa State who was apprehended in Abuja, was paraded alongside three other members of his gang on Monday at the Police Officers Mess in Yenagoa Bayelsa State.
Operation Puff Adder agents detained Ewa in Abuja, then transported him to Yenagoa, the state capital of Bayelsa, where he was paraded.
Ewa was paraded alongside three other members of his gang, Emmanuel Charles Angase, 37, of Azuzuma Community Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, Innocent Kingsley, 31, of Egbu Community Etche LGA in Rivers State, and one Timi Werikumo, 21, of Azuzuma Community Southern Ijaw LGA. Ewa uses Lion Interior Hub as a front for his criminal activities, and he is well known for his extravagant lifestyle The gang’s other members are still at large.
The main suspect, John Ikechukwu Ewa, often known as John I. ‘I was involved in the kidnapping of Danjuma, I was not aware of the kidnapping, I was told they have a business together, you should simply tell them where he is staying,’ claimed John Lion, a 30-year-old native of Eruah Community in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State. When I left in 2003, I was employed as a cleaner at Sterling Bank.
I’m glad I’m not a member of the gang; I was merely misinformed. When they split the ransom with me, they gave me a dash of N1.5 million. Emmanuel then gave me $10,000, which I changed for N7.5 million.
Read Also: Sea-Pirates Kills Four, Kidnap Six Oil Workers In Bayelsa
‘Lion is my name, it is the English translation of Ewa. I played the role of showing them Danjuma’s house. I did not play any role in Akin’s kidnap, I only showed them his house that he is the former boss I didn’t know that they were kidnappers.’
“I am not the owner of the camp, I can’t really remember the exact date but sometime last year we did a kidnapping but I was not the head, I was not even the one that brought the job but I happened to be the driver’ then this year we did a kidnapping job again but that of last year was Akim then Danjuma, that is the only two,” said Emmanuel Charles Angase, a 37-year-old native of Azuzuma Southern Ija.
‘What I was told is N45m for Danjuma then I was told that Akin paid N80m, they were taken to Sunikiri Creek area. I am not the leader, the leader of the kidnapping is Bale, I don’t know where he is.’
According to CP Ben Okoli, the commissioner of police for the Bayelsa State Command, “the Command has recently dealt with reported incidences of kidnapping, armed robbery, and cultism. I adjust the security plan with a particular emphasis on dealing with kidnapping and armed robbery.
“Operation Restore Peace agents recently apprehended members of a known kidnapping ring, demonstrating the effectiveness of the tactic. Over the course of seven years, this group has been accountable for more than ten (10) high-profile kidnappings in the State.
48-year-old Manager of a new generation bank Akeeb Oladele Olushola was abducted on December 8 at his home in Old Commissioners Quarters Opolo, Yenagoa. He was freed on December 12 after paying an 80 (N80) million naira ransom.
Similarly, on July 30, 2022, Danjuma Omeje, 41, a Manager of a New Generation Bank in Yenagoa, was abducted at his home in Okaka, Yenagoa. He was freed on July 14, 2022, after paying a ransom of 60 million naira. Cash equivalent of $30,000,000 Naira and the same amount in US dollars.
“Through meticulous investigation, Operation Restore Peace personnel detained the following suspects;
The head of the kidnapping gang is 37-year-old Emmanuel Charles Angase, a resident of the Azuzuama Community in the Southern Ijaw LGA. In the Nembe Local Government Area, he runs a kidnapping camp at Sunikiri Creek, close to Oluasiri, with his second in command, Gbalipre Gamage, now at large. With the money from the ransom he received, he bought a brand-new Toyota Avalon for his wife, which was found by police agents.
The gang’s commander, Emmanuel Charles Angase, admitted that he and John Ewa, together with other escaped suspects, ambushed Danjuma Omeje at the entrance to his home in Okaka on June 30, 2022, abducted him, and then fled in a blue Toyota Corolla with the licence plate KJA 225 AY. They transported the victim to his camp in Sunikiri Oluasiri, and on July 14, 2022, they freed him after receiving a ransom payment of $66,000,000. Additionally, the suspect admitted to abducting banker Akeeb Oladele Olusola and Nancy Keme Dickson, the younger sister of former governor and senator Seriake Dickson, who was taken on December 26, 2015. Additionally, he admitted to abducting Chinonso Eze and other Igbo businessmen.
‘John Ikechukwu Ewa’m’ 30 years old aka John Lion, a native of Eruan Community in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, known for living flamboyantly on social media, a former cleaner with a new generation bank, confessed to having taken ten thousand US dollars from the ransom demanded for Danjuma Omeje.
‘Innocent Kingsley’m’ is a 31-year-old native of the Rivers State community of Egbu. Azuzuama Community Southern Ijaw LGA, Bayelsa State native Timi Werikumo, age 21, is the owner of a blue Toyota Corolla with the registration number KJA 225 AY.
‘At the completion of the inquiry, charges against all the suspects will be filed in court.’
“Under my direction, the Bayelsa State Police Command is resolutely committed to making the State uncomfortable for criminals. Our officers are more committed than ever to purge the State of criminal elements and make sure that our neighbourhoods aresafer places for commerce and economic growth.
Africa Today News, New York