•Sen. T. U. Wada Photo: Sun News Publishing

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The animalistic law called ‘might Is right’ was the name of the game when the family of Senator Tawar Umbi Wada, a lawyer and serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was twice caught up in the wave of notorious armed gangs who showed him that they could unleash threat to the lives and property of not only the less privileged but also the powerful Nigerians.

Wada’s wife and kids were the first to tell the horror-story as they went into a pharmacy in their neighbourhood to buy some drugs, only to be trapped in an on-going robbery operation during which madam’s hand bag was ransacked and money and keys to the limousine they drove were removed. They were ordered to lie down like other captives and did not raise their heads till the gangsters’ cars faded into darkness of the night.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, amiable Senator Wada, who is chairman Senate Committee on Agriculture, narrated his melodramatic story in which as a hostage, he made friends with the blood-thirsty bandits even with a cocked gun pointed at him while they dispossessed him of, money during the cruising they enjoyed around Abuja city for hours in his jeep before they told him that he was a lucky guy not to be a politician, else they would have sent him to the great beyond.

His story:
Guest robbers after my elections
I don’t know whether it is pre-planned or coincidence that armed robbers decided to pay me visits twice and both to take away my new vehicles each of which I bought after winning an election in 2003 and 2007.

The first time in 2003, three months after resuming office as new senator when we were given money to buy cars in line with the introduction of the monetization policy. I bought a new Honda Accord car (V-tech which they call End of discussion).

When my family was in captivity
I sent my wife to get some drugs for me within Garki Area III because I was feverish. So she went behind the Ritalori Hotel shopping complex where there is a pharmacy by 7 p.m. And she took two of my daughters along. She bought the drugs and as she was about to enter the car, somebody accosted her. She thought it was someone who knew me and wanted to ask about me. But immediately he came close to her, he pulled a gun and asked her to quietly get into the car and make no noise. He ordered her and the two kids to sit in the back seat, and just then another person came and sat at the driver’s seat and then another sat in the passenger’s seat in front. All of them had guns.

So, having realized the situation, my wife told them: “please if it is the car you want, carry it and spare me and the kids” (who were between five and 10 years old). One of them tried to argue but another one wanted to know if the car had security. She told them there was none and that they were free to drive it. They said ok she should take the kids and go back to the shop while they pointed a gun closely behind her. As they entered into the pharmacy, they shouted to everybody, warning them to close the door and lie low, and if anybody opens the door, he or she would be shot dead. They did that in order to have enough time to drive the car away without any alarm from my wife, and that by the time the shop was re-open, they could have manoeuvred into the town.

She was, however lucky that as they ransacked her handbag and took money and all valuables, they could not see her handset. So she called me that they were attacked by armed robbers. As I was feeling feverish, the fever just cleared. I asked her where they were and went to meet them. We went and reported at the Garki Police station.

Paying for lost commodity
Incidentally that car was given to me by car dealers even before I paid. And it was sold to me at N3.3million. The dealers felt confident that they would be paid, so they delivered it to me before payment. So when that happened, I quietly went and paid cash even while the car was stolen. And I had not even insured the car.

Up to this moment, there is no news about that car, and incidentally, it was bearing Senate number 105 Senator. They must have gone a long distance without any cause for alarm, and that was the end of discussion (laughter).
Again, when I struggled and came back to the Senate the second time, I decided to buy a Toyota Square Jeep at the cost of N6.5million, about three months into the second tenure.

When destiny beacons me
That day, I went to barb my hair along with my friend. While we were at the barbing saloon, a friend called me and I told him I would see him when am through with the barber. It was about 6 p.m. having finished, I decided to go and drop my friend at home in Maitama. Getting to the junction of Mississippi road, I stopped to blow my nose, as I was about entering the car, one man approached me saying, “you bloody fool, come back here”, pointing to the back seat door. I thought he was a policeman, but what surprised me was, as he was giving that instruction, he also brandished a gun.

So I knew for sure he was a robber, and I said ok, ok just cool down. I will do as you wish and I quickly put my hand into my pocket, and just then, another person approached me saying, “what are taking from the pocket?”. He thought I was going to pull out a gun. I told him I was bringing out all the money in my pocket to give them. So he grabbed my hand to make sure it was money and then took it and they ordered me to the back seat together with the first person. The second person went round and sat in the passenger’s … and then the third person now appeared and entered the driver’s seat.

They warned me to choose between my life and the car. I cooperated with them as they drove off the scene. If I don’t, it’s possible they shoot and I could loose my life and the car. At that moment, various thoughts crossed my mind: I thought about my family, the kids back home, my other loved ones, my people in the village and so on. So, I just decided to calm down.

Unknown destination
They had started moving the car without releasing the hand brake, so it was jacking and they were frightened and one of them started banging at the door and shouted at me: “Look you don’t behave on this motor issue, we’ll just take out your life and go”. I told them no, no it’s just the hand brake. Just remove it and let’s go. They removed it and the motor sailed smoothly. So they first started driving towards Kubwa, then later turned into town, while warning that if I ever saw a policeman and raised an alarm, they would kill me first and engage the police in a gun battle, and there was no policemen during our cruise.

They took us towards Airport road towards Gwagwalada while interviewing me: where was I from, what did I do for a living. I told them I am petrol dealer (laughter). I couldn’t have told them that I am a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is then they could have hammered me and queried why should I be carrying only N30,000 (that was what they found on me) and why not dollars and pound sterling? They also asked if I was a Christian or a Muslim, I told them I am a Christian, and they said as Christians themselves they would not kill me because they were calling me Mallam as we talked due to my outfit and maybe my accent.

Friendly chat with the enemy
I told them I am from Gombe State and one of them said: “I have been to Gombe for an operation (robbery) sometime back. So they stressed that I was lucky to be a Christian else, they would have killed me. They were all Igbos because they were speaking fluent Igbo and I speak Igbo, though I never showed I did. I understood all they were saying.

They told me that I should not worry, that they would only use my car to go and rob one Alhaji’s two filling stations, one in Zuba and the other one in Gwagwalada, and that when they finished the robbery, they would dump it, so I should go around Gwagwalada for my car the following day. But I believed they were just saying that so that I calmed down and not report them to police, till they escaped.

They also asked how much I bought the car, I told them and whether it was bulletproof car, I said it was not. One of them pushed me and shouted at me to tell them the truth if it was a bulletproof car. I told them it was not and that I didn’t want to tell them it was bullet proof and later somebody would shoot and hurt them. We talked like that up to the T- junction of Lokoja-Kaduna between Zuba and Gwagwalada.

My last count
They moved towards Zuba, and after about a kilometer or two from that junction, they stopped at a dark place and asked me to take off my clothes, leaving me only with my undies (pants) and ordered me to start moving into the bush. As I was going, I believe they wanted to kill me there and then. I begged them to spare my life. I heard them close the doors and the sound of my car engine roared off and that was it, no shooting. They did all these in order to ensure that by the time I came out in my pants they would have gone very far.

An Okada man came to my rescue
I was lucky, immediately I came out, there was a man on motorcycle (Okada), I waved him down and lucky again, he was not scared and he stopped. My destination then was to Jerri Junction (the T-junction of Airport road). I now explained to him. He had an overall or a raincoat on him because it was in August. So I used that to cover myself. As I have my chambers at Jabi, I decided to go there and changed into cloth.

From there, I went back to Maitama Police Command and reported. By the time the police dropped me at Apo legislators’ quarters, it was 12 in the night. So it was a five-hour trauma. Within that period, I knew I was in danger, because I knew if I dared make any slighted mistake, they could kill me. I feigned confidence, cooperated with them wholeheartedly and made them rest assured that they could always have the car if only to spare my life. Up to now this one too, there is no news, but I had insured the car though I have not claimed yet.