BENIN-CITY- The Federal Government re-invigorated zeal to clamp down on illegal arms dealers and reduce the illegal proliferation of arms in the country has started yielding result.
The latest report is coming from the boundary between Edo and Delta, along Benin/Agbor Road, at the joint police/ military check point, where a lorry loaded with different caliber of arms and ammunition was intercepted.
Our correspondent gathered that the incident took place recently in the night of May 3, 2016, when all effort for the truck driver Obina Chukwuma to bribe his way through as usual, failed as the military men on duty at the check point bluntly refused collecting money as bribe to let go.
According to one of the two assistants (motor boys) to the driver, Ehigiator Friday from Owa Oyibu, in Agbor Delta State who is already in custody, helping the police in their investigation in his detailed confession, said the whole problem started on Monday May 2, 2016 when he in company of the second motor boy, Omoruyi Chuks and their oga arrived Lagos early in the morning to go and load goods for a customer from Lagos to Onitsha. He said that early morning “Our Oga Obina Chukwuma gave the two of us, me and Omoruyi Chuks money to go and eat and wait for him, and he drove the truck away alone”
“Later in the evening, it was already dark, we got a phone call from our Oga that both of us should come and meet him. Getting there, we discovered that they have finished loading our truck and ready to embark on the journey back. At this point, my partner Chuks asked our oga, why he didn’t invite both of us, during the loading of the truck and he replied saying he didn’t want us stressed, so as not to start sleeping on the way in the night.”
Ehigiator Friday added that their oga at that point handed over the receipt, way bill containing building materials, plastic containers and some money to his other colleague, Omoruyi Chuks to hold in case of any checking point on the way.
He said actually they passed so many checking points on the way bribing their way throughout the night, but luck ran against them before dawn, on getting to the boundary between Edo and Delta. They met a joint checking point of two soldiers and one policeman. Omoruyi Chuks quickly jumped down to attend to them with the particulars, which the policeman ignorantly accepted to allow them go, but one of the soldiers inquisitively insisted on searching the load and demanded that the driver should come down to open the back door. Instead the driver started giving them money, which they vehemently refused.
Unfortunately for the driver, the soldiers forcefully collected the key from him and asked Chuks to open the door and the two soldiers and Ehigiator entered the back to start off loading. As they were throwing down the well packaged cartons on the tarred road, one of them, got thorned, scattered on the ground and thus surprisingly exposing the content to be guns and bullets inside.
Immediately, the driver Obina Chukwuma knowing the game was up and his motorboy Chuks Omoruyi seeing the exhibit, immediately escaped, while the other boy, Ehigiator Friday was apprehended. But the driver was unlucky, as he was shot dead on the run and Chuks succeeded in escaping into the thick bush that night.
According to another very reliable source close to the Omoruyi family, who for fear of victimization wouldn’t want his identity revealed, said when asked about the whereabout of Chuks Omoruyi, that he was last seen on the day he left home saying he told them at home that they were carrying goods to Lagos.
The anonymous source revealed that on May 4, 2016, some policemen and soldiers numbering about seven stormed Chuks Omoruyi family house in company of his colleague Ehigiator Friday, on hand-cuffs, swollen head and serious bruises all over his body and just managing to walk, looking for Chuks. But when they could not find him, they searched and ransacked the whole house and found nothing criminal. They then left a message that he (Chuks) should report himself to any nearby police or army formation on arrival, failure will make him a wanted person.
Thereafter, they kept coming day and night in search of their target who they wanted dead or alive. On hearing that they are desperately looking for him, he then completely avoided his house and went to take refuge with a friend who is ignorant of his predicament in an undisclosed village suburb of Benin City.
Unfortunately, as Chuks’ friend and host, was in his work place on June 25, 2016, he stumbled into a newspaper, where he saw that his friend and guest was officially declared wanted boldly with his photograph. He immediately became very afraid and angry. On getting home he angrily and immediately confronted Chuks and ejected him from his house to leave in the night for fear of police attack and anticipated victimization if his sojourn there is exposed.
Another anonymous source, an elderly man neighbor in the Chuks Omoruyi family house area, when confronted contributed that he has not been seen anywhere, nor heard of since that very early May that the incident happened.
The elderly man lamented and pitied the young Chuks, who he said is a very quiet, humble and hardworking young man, struggling to learn a profession that will put food on the table for him in future. He concluded by appealing to all Godly spirited people and concerned authorities to please have mercy and that the young man is completely innocent and a victim of circumstance of what he is being declared wanted for.
Meanwhile the police have placed a handsome reward of N5m on any successful informant that can lead to his arrest.
