In a chat with Punch, the footballer said the late patriarch, Chief James Iloenyosi was kidnapped on November 25, 2013 on his way from mass.
He said his father was on his way back from their local Catholic church when three SUVs double-crossed him and whisked him away.
“When they took him away, they did
not talk to us until after five days. They phoned my twin sister. She
was sobbing when she called me that the kidnappers had made contact.
“When we the children gathered, my sister called the kidnappers again
and they simply told us that they would call back. They did not call
back until after another five days just to build our anxiety,” he said.
He said the kidnappers called on the morning of the fifth day to demand a ransom of N50m.
He said it was later reduced to N15m after much begging and negotiations.
Chikelue said, “When we paid the N15m, my father was already dead and we did not know.
“What made me upset was that despite how seriously we worked to get him back, my father did not come out of it alive.”
Ha added that a suspect known as Nonso, was arrested along with three other members of his gang.
“The SARS boss in Anambra told me at the time that any suspect
arrested for any major crime always mentioned the name of Evans,” he
said.
He narrated how one of Evans’ boys was arrested but the main suspect escaped and his father was never found alive.
“He immediately told us that his
leader was Evans. But he said there was no way we could get Evans
because he had fled to Lagos after the completion of the operation. At
this point, Nonso kept our hope alive. He said my father was still
alive. He refused to give precise information,”
Chikelue said, “While we were negotiating for ransom, they would call
and put the phone on speaker so I could hear how they beat him. My
father would cry and beg me to find a way to ensure his freedom.
“We buried him few days after we found his body and started the
search for Evans. One of the vital information Nonso gave us was that
they were on their way to a robbery when they got information about my
father and they diverted to Abagana to kidnap him. So, I was really
particular about the arrest of Evans so that he could tell us who in our
community gave them the information.”