Evans ammunition supplier gets five-year sentence

A Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has sentenced Udeme Upong, one of the co-defendants standing trial with a kidnap kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, to five years imprisonment for illegal sales of firearms.

The trial Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo sentenced Upong following his guilty plea to the charge.

Upong and Evans, Joseph Ikenna Emeka, and Chiemeka Arinze are charged on a seven-count charge of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to kidnap and selling of firearms by the state government.

They were alleged to have attempted the kidnap of Mr. Vincent Obianodo, the Chairman, Young Shall Grow Motors.

When the case was called yesterday, Upong through his counsel, Mr. A. B. Josiah told the court of his intention to change his plea of ‘not guilty’ to ‘guilty.’

The development made the judge to ordered the prosecution to review the fact of the case.

The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins told the court that Upong, who hailed from Itan-Ikoronumu village in Ika LGA of Akwa Ibom State as at the time of arrest, admitted to being involved in the matter having met the first defendant (Evans).

He said the convict admitted to selling 2-AK 47 guns and 270 arms of ammunition to Evans sometimes in 2008 contrary to Section 29(2) of the Fire Arms Act F28, 2004 and punishable under Section27 (b)(III).

Martins further told court that Upong said he got the weapon from his village where they usually use it for inter-communal crises.

He said that they agreed to N400, 000 for the two ammunition but the Evans paid him N200, 000.

The prosecution counsel also revealed that the defendant’s statement has been admitted in evidence. Added that the defendant was charged under Firearm Act Section 92 and punishable under Section B.
“Under the said law, the offence attracts maximum of five years imprisonment. We are not aware of any of his previous convictions.”

He prayed to the court to convict the defendant accordingly.

The judge, therefore, pronounced him guilty as charged and convicted the defendant for the offence of illegal sales of firearms.

Josiah in his allocutus appealed to the court to consider his change of plea as a remorseful act and for not wasting the time of the court and taxpayers’ money.

He prayed the court to consider that the defendant has been in detention since July 6, 2017, which is almost the length of his sentence.

Josiah urged the court to temper justice with mercy and give the defendant a lenient sentence as a first offender who has not been convicted before.

Justice Taiwo sentenced the defendant to five years imprisonment, which reads from the date of his remand in custody of Kirikiri Correctional Service on July 6, 2017.

It could be recalled that on sometime on February 2022, Evans was sentenced to life imprisonment in one of the charges filed against him and others before Justice Hakeem Oshodi.

Evans still has about two more related cases of kidnapping against him before Justice Taiwo and another two before Justice Adedayo Akintoye of Lagos high court now sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square.