Seven months after he was released from prison custody in
Port Harcourt, Rivers State over kidnapping, Sorbari Apollolos has found his
way back to the place for the same offence.
Popularly known as Blackie among his gang members, Apollolos
was recently arrested by the police for kidnapping a 67-year-old businesswoman
identified only as Obianuju.
Apollolos and three other suspects, Daniel Johngbo, Harridon
Barryira and Lebara Tobia, were apprehended at several locations in the state.
City Round learnt that Obianuju was returning home from a
church in a Toyota Sienna on February 7, 2019, when the gun-wielding kidnappers
ambushed her some metres away from her Rumuobiakani residence.
The suspects, some of whom were reportedly dressed in
military camouflage, whisked the woman away in her vehicle.
They allegedly held her hostage in a forest for six days and
collected millions of naira in ransom before she was released.
Our correspondent learnt that the woman petitioned the
acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, who directed the
Intelligence Response Team of the Force to find the perpetrators of the crime.
IRT operatives tracked down Apollolos at his hideout in
Kono-Bowe community in the Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He was said to have confessed to the crime and given the
police team information that led to the arrest of the three other members of
the gang.
Speaking with City Round during the week, Apollolos noted
that Obianuju’s kidnap was coordinated by one Gbenena, who is still at large,
adding that he (Apollolos) got a share of N350,000 from the ransom.
Apollolos, who said he was in prison for offences bordering
on kidnapping and cult-related activities, told our correspondent that he took
to the crime again to raise money to settle a lawyer who facilitated his
release from the prison.
He stated, “I am a member of De-Gbam cult. I was initiated
in 2011 by one of my friends known as Tambake Tax, who is the unit head of the
confraternity in my community. I was introduced to kidnapping by one Ayapsi,
alias Gbenena, and one Gboma. We were all involved in the kidnapping of Mrs
Obianuju. I did that ‘job’ because I needed money to balance my lawyer who
helped to secure my release from the prison in September 2018. I was held for
engaging in cult-related activities and kidnapping in March 2016.
“I approached Gbenena for financial assistance and offered
him my farmland in exchange for the money but he refused. He said he had a
kidnapping job that would be more profitable for me. On February 5, 2019, one
of Gbenena’s friends, who had been monitoring our target (Obianuju), came to
his house and told us that it was time to strike. Gbenena also informed us that
he had made arrangements for an army uniform that would be used by the driver
of our vehicle, Barriyra, to beat security checkpoints.
“On February 7, 2019, Gbenena invited me to his house and
when I got there, I met Barriyra and Gboma’s brother, who was holding an army
uniform. I also saw a Toyota Corolla, and two AK-47 rifles. Gbenena prayed for
us at his shrine and we headed for Port Harcourt. I took one of the AK-47
rifles, while Gboma’s brother with the army uniform was armed with an English
pistol.”
Apollolos said ransom negotiation and collection were
carried out by Gbenena, noting that a resident of the area where Obianuju
resides gave the “job” to the gang.
Recalling his kidnapping escapades, the 28-year-old man
stated that he took to the crime in 2015 and participated in two operations
before he was arrested in March 2016.
He said he got N150,000 share from N800,000 ransom they
collected from the relatives of one of their victims whom they kidnapped in
Nyorkwe community.
He added, “My gang members and I also did another kidnapping
job in March 2016 at Ogboro village. We were four that went for the operation.
We kidnapped the man from his pharmacy. He jumped out of the vehicle as we were
approaching traffic around Wimpey Junction. All my gang members jumped out of
the vehicle, but I was not lucky. Police arrested me and recovered an AK-47
rifle from me.
“I was taken to Kala Police Station before I was transferred
to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, where I spent six months. I was charged to
court and was in prison from March 2016 to September 2018, when my lawyer
secured my release. My boss’ name is Solomon. He controls over 200 boys in his
camp. He has over 30 AK-47 rifles and ammunition in his camp.”
In his confession, 20-year-old Johngbo said Gbenena engaged
him to take care of Obianuju during her stay in captivity.
He said Obianuju prayed for him before she was freed and
advised him to turn a new leaf.
He said, “I didn’t go out with the gang on the day they
kidnapped the woman. The wife of our gang leader (Gbenena) gave me N1,500 to
buy fried rice and chicken and Gbenena took me on his motorcycle to give the
food to the woman in the camp. I spent the night there and the next day,
Gbenena gave me N3,000 to buy an asthmatic drug for the woman.
“When I came back, the woman told me that my gang members
had been beating her. Out of pity, I decided to stay in the camp so that they
wouldn’t beat her again. On the third day, the woman prayed for me and promised
to send me to school. She gave me the address of her church at Rumuomasi Market
Junction and advised me to give my life to Jesus Christ.”
The driver, Barriyra, 33, said he met Apollolos and Gboma in
January 2019 at Kono-Bowe community when he visited his wife, who hails from
the village.
“We became friends afterwards. On February 7, 2019, they
called to invite me for a job. Few days after the woman was kidnapped, Gbenena
gave me N500,000 as my share of the ransom. He told me that N6m was paid as
ransom,” he added.
Narrating her ordeal, Obianuju, said the kidnappers
initially demanded N80m in ransom and subjected her to series of torture. She said the abductors told her they had been
paid N40m to kill her.
Obianunju recalled, “After I was abducted, the kidnappers
slapped me several times. They told me that they had been trailing me since
2008. The beating persisted and I almost suffocated. They took me to the forest
where they resumed the beating. They flogged me several times. One of them hit
me on the forehead with a hammer. At that point, I informed them that my family
could raise the N80m ransom they demanded and they opened negotiations with
them.”
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