From Molly Kilete, Abuja
Call him chairman or commander of one-chance operations in Abuja, you won’t be wrong. He has been in the criminal business for 22 years with no plans to retire anytime soon.
With his criminal exploits, he was able to marry three wives and has eight children.
His activities, however, came to an end after operatives of the IGP Intelligence Response Team(IRT), arrested him.
Incidentally, this suspect was arrested 22 years ago by the same IRT operatives for the same one-chance offence. He was charged to court and remanded in Suleja Prison where he spent more than one year in custody. He was granted bail on awaiting trial and went back to his vomit.
Chukwudi, 47, claimed to be a radio mechanic. He said he went into the notorious business when he could no longer meet the demands of his large family. He said he was introduced into the act by one Jude, now deceased. He accepted the offer because “it is one of the fastest ways to make money without much stress.
Since he came to Abuja in 1990, he has been in and out of the one-chance business. He sometimes went into other criminal activites to evade arrest and make ends meet.
Now in police custody, he told Daily Sun, that his gang members targeted mostly travellers who patronised roadside drivers instead of going to motor parks. He insisted he never brutalise his victims nor push them out of moving vehicle:
“As a matter of fact, most of our victims hardly get to know they have been robbed until they get to their final destination. We are usually five in number to carry out any operation.
“What we do is that we have a vehicle that we use. We target mostly people with luggage like boxes and other heavy items. We go to very busy and crowded areas and along the highways to get passengers who are travelling.
“When we get these passengers, we help them to put their boxes, bags and other luggages in the booth of the vehicle. While the owner is seated in the vehicle, we have a way of having access into the booth without the passengers suspecting anything. We force the bag or box open no matter how securely locked it is and remove whatever valuables like money, communication gadgets like laptop, jewellries and lock it back without the owner suspecting anything.
“Unlike other one-chance groups who toture their victims and eventually push them out of their moving vehicle. We don’t engage in such brutality.
“We dont normally beat our victims or push them out from our vehicle. We only force their bags open, take whatever will fetch us money and allow them to go without them knowing they have been robbed. That is how we operate.
“It is very easy to know if there is money in such boxes. Their owners use good padlocks to lock the bags while those that don’t have money in their bags usually do not bother using padlock; they just zip it and that us all.
“People don’t like to go to motor park because it is costly. They go to the road side and these are the ones we target.”
Asked why he was Upon his release from prison, 22 years ago, Chukwudi went back to his radio mechanic business. But things were not going well as planned. He left Abuja for Anambra State:
“I had to leave because of tight security everywhere in Abuja. tight and relocated to the East and operated between Anambra and Enugu states. We robbed passengers of their valuables.
“I feel bad being paraded by the police. If I am granted pardon, I will never go into criminal acts again. I have learnt my lessons the hard way.”
One of the gang members, Okeke, was recruited into the business in 2018. Chukwudi said Okeke, approached him for assistance. But he introduced him into one-chance since it is the business he was engaged in.
Okeke, 41, said he joined Chukwudi in 2021, worked for him for less than two years before abandoning the act:
“I was doing business when I came to Abuja. Unfortunately my business collapsed so I met him as a friend for assistance and he introduced me to one-chance. I did the job with him in 2022 and left him. Before I joined the one-chance business, I was selling provisions and alcoholic drinks at Tungamaji.”