The Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris has on Friday called for a death sentence for the arrested criminal mastermind and kidnap kingpin, Evans born Chukwudem Onwamadike.
The IGP while speaking in Abuja at a dialogue session held with the Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, under the umbrella of Situation Room, said the billionaire kidnap kingpin’s case should be used to set an example for others in the illegal trade.
Speaking at the event, the IGP lamented that Evans “has changed the face of kidnapping in this country” adding that the fact that he collected $1million ransom on six different occasions and admitted to having made over $7 billion from the illegal trade was enough to lure some youths into the illegal business.
The Police boss further noted that the Nigerian government needed to review the existing laws on kidnapping with a view of inposing stiffer capital punishments. IGP Ibrahim Idris further noted that a total of 2000 kidnap suspects are currently in police custody, adding that they all should be sentenced to life imprisonment as the least purnishment if found guilty.
He added: “Some of these local people don’t really understand, they see people being paraded on TV after arrest and think that is just where it ended.
“Kidnapping obviously has become a very major challenge for us in this country. However, I am happy to state that in virtually over 80 percent of cases reported to the police, the suspects were arrested.
“Imagine the case at hand, talking about Evans. He told his boys not to have landed property in either Anambra or Imo because he was aware the houses will be demolished and the boys ostracised if caught.
“He refused to own any property in his place. You know, in that part of the country, even in churches, relatives of kidnap suspects are avoided and treated as outcasts by people.
“That was why he refused to invest in his own state and preferred to build houses in Ghana and other places. This was because he knew his Investments would be lost. So the issue of punishment is very important.
“Evans has undoubtedly changed the face of kidnapping in this country, if you see his magnification mansions in Ghana.
“You can see why our youths have taken this way to easy life. That is why we have to up the risk.
“If you engage in kidnapping the punishment should be death or life imprisonment. This will serve as deterrent to youths that may wish to engage in the crime.”
He further called on the Federal Government for more funding to enable it acquire more Helicopters, patrol vans and communication gadgets.
He noted: “The funding of the police is very important because we need to buy many equipment to be on ground.
“If we can have all these, I am assuring you that we are going to give these bad boys a very nasty time.”