A close-up on Ejima Nwokwu.
2 min read
There is no best way to describe Ejima Nwokwu as far as crime and jail breaks are concerned. If he were to be a chess player, he will pass for a grand master. Under boxing, he can as well be called a heavyweight champion and if crime is where people secure ranks for their activities, Ejima Nwokwu may be a general by now. But alas, thank God there is no program in the world to reward criminals. Ejima Nwokwu remains a local and cross boarder criminal for life!
Umuaka Times gathered over the weekend that the Ejima has been in and out of prisons both in Nigeria and outside. A couple of years ago, the ejima whose name is either Peter or Paul was arrested in Senegal over a crime. He was imprisoned and one thing possibly led to another, he became a free man again.
By the time he was serving his jail term in Senegal, his highly identical twin brother who also went by the name Ejima Nwokwu and whose real name is either Peter or Paul was shot dead by a security team known as Eagle Squad. He died on “active service” while trying to rub. His brother who was shot dead around 2009, was a part of the gang that robbed late Gen Abacha’s former information minister Dr Walter Ofonagoro in Umuaka while heading to his home town Amaigbo. The police later found Dr Ofonagoro’s Blackberry phone with him.
As time went by, the ejima that was killed last week was released from jail in Senegal and he found his way back home where he began fully to operate both as a kidnapper and an armed robber. He was later arrested and put to jail once again. He found his way out of jail when the Owerri prison break occurred on April 5 2021.
Speculations had it that several kidnapping activities in and around Umuaka were associated with him. That was why after he was shot dead yesterday, uncountable number of Akalites went into a heavy celebration mood.
Perhaps the determination to choose crime as an occupation may have started at Hilltop Primary School Uba Umuaka where the twins schooled during their formative years. According to a source who spoke to Umuaka Times yesterday, “They were my classmate. They hardly came to school. They were violent and were always in the habit of inflecting injuries on other pupils. We found it difficult to differentiate one from the other because they were so identical. They were during that time involved in stealing biros and pencils from their fellow classmates.”
It is generally believed that the tragic end of Ejima Nwokwu yesterday will serve as a heavy deterrent to others who are already into violent crimes or wish to join.
