Nigerian Police Promote Kidnap Kingpin, Sam Chukwu, To Assistant Commissioner

In a move that is bound to send shockwaves
throughout Nigeria and beyond, the Nigerian
police force has promoted Sam Chukwu, a
controversial police officer named in a high-
profile kidnap and murder case, to the rank of
Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Mr. Chukwu went on the run after prosecutors at
the Ministry of Justice, Enugu State, said he had
a hand in the 2009 kidnap and subsequent murder of
Lotachukwu (Lota) Ezeudu, a 2nd year
accountancy student at the University of Nigeria,
Enugu campus.
But in a stunning development, the Police Service
Commission (PSC) headed by former Inspector
General of Police, Mike Okiro, approved the
fugitive officer’s elevation to the rank of AC. He is
one of 21 superintendents of police whose promotion
to AC was recently rubberstamped by the
commission.
Two senior police sources in Abuja told
SaharaReporters that there was widespread
dismay within the police over the decision of the
Inspector General of Police Suleiman Abba, and
the Police Service Commission to turn a blind eye
to the criminal indictment of Sam Chukwu. “Why
is it that this one man is being protected by the IG
and Chief Sir Okiro, even though everybody knows
that he committed crimes that cry to heaven?” one
of the police sources wondered. The source
disclosed that the PSC deliberately failed to list the
names of all officers promoted to the rank of AC in
order to avoid public scrutiny of the questionable
decision to promote Sam Chukwu. “Go and look at
their [Police Service Commission] website, they
craftily just wrote that 21 superintendents were
promoted to assistant commissioner, but did not
release the names. It’s because they want to hide the
fact that Sam Chukwu’s name is there,” said the
source.
Two suspects in the Ezeudu kidnap case, Desmond
Chinwuba, who remains in hiding, and Ernest
Okeke, who is in custody undergoing trial, were
living in Mr. Chukwu’s home at the time they
allegedly abducted Mr. Ezeudu and reportedly
killed him, after collecting a hefty ransom. Both
Mr. Chinwuba and Mr. Okeke had been implicated
in an earlier kidnap and murder case and had been
fired from the police while they underwent trial.
They were mysteriously granted bail and were
longtime guests in Mr. Chukwu’s family home when
they allegedly ensnared Lota Ezeudu in their
kidnap trap, according to prosecutor sources in
Enugu.

Mr. Chukwu’s son, Nnaemeka Chukwu, is also in
custody as a suspect in the case. Prosecutors believe
he had lured Lota Ezeudu, who was his classmate
in secondary school, to Mr. Chukwu’s home where
he was seized by a ring of kidnappers organized
and controlled by Mr. Chukwu.
In February 2012, Justice Afam Nwobodo of the
Enugu High Court issued an arrest warrant for
Sam Chukwu after the officer refused to
voluntarily show up in court for arraignment.
“Wanted” posters of Mr. Chukwu are posted in
parts of Enugu as well as in the rogue officer’s
hometown, an official of the Enugu State Ministry
of Justice prosecutor told SaharaReporters.
The official added that the police authorities in
Enugu and Abuja knew full well that Mr. Chukwu
had ignored court summons. “The police in Enugu
claimed that Sam Chukwu was on the run, that
they did not know of his whereabouts,” said the
official. He continued: “Yet, we continued to get
information that he was seen in Abuja at the police
headquarters. He was also seen in Enugu. This
means the police were protecting a man wanted for
serious crimes.”
The immediate former IG of Police, Mohammed
Abubakar, ignored all appeals by prosecutors to help
find and arrest Mr. Chukwu. Yet, two weeks before
the end of his tenure, Mr. Abubakar reinstated Mr.
Chukwu to the police and posted him to the
southeast zonal command to assume the important
post of provost.
Another police source in Umuahia told
SaharaReporters that Mr. Chukwu had been
buying drinks to celebrate his promotion. He
accused unnamed top shots of the police of shielding
Mr. Chukwu because the shady officer has strong
ties to powerful politicians in Enugu State and the
southeast. The source said Mr. Chukwu was well
versed in the game of commanding police officers to
rig elections for some politicians. He alleged that
the rogue officer recently took a contingent of police
officers to Awgu in Aninri local government area
to do work for some politicians.
Several police sources blamed PSC chair, Mike
Okiro, and successive IGs, including the
incumbent, Mr. Abba, for enabling “bad eggs” like
Mr. Chukwu to rise in the police even though they
tarnish the image of good officers.
“You have a situation where the IGs are picked for
the wrong reasons. Then the IGs turn around and
recommend crooks for promotion by the police
service commission. That’s why the reputation of all
of us in the police continues to suffer,” one officer
complained.
Yesterday, SaharaReporters contacted police
spokesman Emeka Ojukwu by phone to seek
clarification over the promotion of Mr. Chukwu.
Mr. Ojukwu, who is the police public relations
officer at police headquarters in Abuja, asked our
correspondent to email questions to him. We sent
him the questions below, but had received no
response at the time of this report.
Questions sent by SaharaReporters to PPRO
Emeka Ojukwu
In February 2012, an Enugu High Court
presided over by Justice Nwobodo issued an
arrest warrant for Sam Chukwu, a senior
police officer, in connection with the 2009
abduction of Lotachukwu Ezeudu. Mr.
Chukwu, who used to be a DPO, failed to
appear in court to respond to prosecutors
who feel he was the mastermind of a ring of
kidnappers, including one Ernest Okeke (who
is in custody) and Desmond Chinwuba, who
is on the run. Our sources in the Ministry of
Justice said the police command in Enugu
told them they were unaware of Mr.
Chukwu’s whereabouts. Even so, the
immediate former IG, Mr. Abubakar,
reinstated the same fugitive and made him
the provost at the southeastern zonal
command in Umuahia. Why did the police
reabsorb Mr. Chukwu even though it was
public knowledge that he had an
outstanding warrant for his arrest?
There are posters of Mr. Chukwu as a
wanted man that are publicly posted in
Enugu. Why has the current IG failed to
address concerns about Mr. Chukwu’s
alleged role in a high-profile kidnap case?
A police source has informed
SaharaReporters that Sam Chukwu is one of
21 chief superintendents of police whose
promotion to AC was recently approved by
the Police Service Commission. How do you
justify the promotion of a man who is still a
fugitive in the eyes of the law?
A source within the police told
SaharaReporters that Mr. Chukwu told police
authorities that a court had cleared him of
any involvement in the kidnap and possible
murder of Lotachukwu Ezeudu. Yet,
prosecutors in Enugu insist they are unaware
of any such order. What kind of investigation
did the police carry out before reinstating
Mr. Chukwu?
How do police authorities react to a series of
reports in print and online media detailing
Mr. Chukwu’s alleged participation in
criminal activities?

SOURCE: SAHARARRPORTERS