Convicted billionaire kidnapper kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly called Evans, has told the Lagos State High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, that he was prepared to give up all his property acquired from kidnapping as a plea bargain agreement if the court could let him off the hook.
Evans in his application for a plea bargain went ahead and told the court that he is now a teacher at the correctional centre in Kirikiri after obtaining a teaching diploma in economics from Yewa College of Education and no longer interested in criminal activities.
He has opted to forfeit his 14 brand-new trucks to the Lagos State Government to acquire, and the proceeds should be transferred to victims of his criminal activities that suffered some damages as part of the proposed plea bargain arrangement.
Represented by his lawyer, Mr. Etudo Emefo, Evans, in his application before Justice Sherifat Sonaike, expressed remorse for his actions, stating that he has turn over a new leaf during his stay at the Kirikiri correctional center.
Evans claimed that the Federal Government awarded him with a scholarship during his stay in prison and that enable him to study.
According to the documents filed before the court, during his time in prison, the Federal Government offered Evans and other inmates the opportunity to further their education.
Evans took advantage of this offer and was granted a scholarship. As a result, he earned a National Certificate in Education in Economics and is now a teacher, no longer identifying as a criminal. Copies of his NCE certificate and project work were submitted as appendices.
Additionally, Evans was offered admission to the National Open University of Nigeria under the Federal Government’s scholarship scheme.
He is currently in his second year, studying Political Science. His admission letter and student ID card were all presented to the court as part of the application in the appendix.
Furthermore, he added that while at the correctional centre, he also underwent training in welding and metal fabrication through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, successfully passing all relevant tests. A copy of the test results was included.
He was penciled for trial yesterday, when the prosecuting counsel, Alaba Kuku, told Justice Sherifat Sonaike that the defendants had expressed interest in pursuing plea bargain agreements with the state government.
He confirmed that Evans’ counsel, Etudo, had given him an advance copy of the application, which is currently before the state government for consideration.Vanguard