Charter to d€ath: How criminals lure drivers to their gr∆ves

Charter to death: How criminals lure drivers to their graves

 

A disturbing wave of criminals posing as passengers are luring drivers with lucrative trip offers, only to rob, poison or murder them and steal their vehicles, VICTOR AYENI writes

 

“Sometimes, the greatest danger comes disguised as an ordinary journey.”

This was what happened on October 15, when a couple approached the driver of a commercial shuttle in Nkanu, Enugu State.

The couple – Emmanuel Nnorom and Precious – appeared like any other couple planning a trip. They told the driver that they wanted to charter his vehicle for a trip to Umuobom, a community in Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo State.

However, this was a ruse concealing a shocking degree of wickedness, which the yet-to-be-identified driver was unaware of until it was too late.

The driving distance between Nkanu and Umuobom is approximately 115 kilometres. The journey would have taken over two hours and could have earned the driver between N180,000 and N250,000.

Sadly, the trip, which initially appeared to be a legitimate charter business, turned deadly upon arrival at the couple’s residence in the community.

In a video shared by Per Second News on Facebook, the seated couple could be heard being interrogated in Igbo, as they carried the driver’s corpse.

Precious, who hailed from Ohafia, Abia State, allegedly colluded with her husband, Emmanuel, who hailed from Umuobom, to lure the unsuspecting driver into their house under the pretext of asking him to help load some luggage into the bus.

When the driver entered the house, the couple allegedly attacked and killed him.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that after allegedly killing the driver, the couple attempted to take possession of his bus and flee.

According to an eyewitness, neighbours who heard a strange commotion as the driver struggled for his life in the compound raised the alarm, attracting members of the local vigilante group and other residents.

The suspects were said to have been apprehended while attempting to escape with the deceased’s vehicle, after which security operatives were alerted.

Police operatives attached to the Ideato division reportedly arrested the suspects and recovered the stolen commercial bus, while investigations continued to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged killing.

Identity of victim still unknown

A resident of the area, Chinonso Ojukwu, claimed that when Emmanuel was first accosted by members of the local vigilante group, he initially attempted to justify the crime by falsely alleging that the deceased had an affair with his wife.

He alleged that subsequent police and community investigations revealed that the actual motive was the premeditated theft of the driver’s commercial bus.

“We still do not yet know the identity of the deceased or the community he came from.

“All we know is that the young man reportedly worked as a shuttle bus driver in Enugu State. The picture of the vehicle and its plate number is being shared alongside this information in the hope that someone will recognise the vehicle or know the deceased.

“Our major concern is to identify this young man and locate his family. Somewhere, a family may be searching for their son, brother, husband, or loved one without knowing what has happened to him,” Ojukwu said.

The resident further disclosed that the bus, with registration number UWN-952ZX, had been recovered and was parked at Akokwa Police Station.

Although the state police command had yet to issue an official statement on the matter, a senior police officer in Ideato confirmed the arrest and said an investigation had commenced.

The suspects were said to remain in custody as homicide investigators prepared to transfer the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Owerri for further investigation and possible prosecution.

Messages sent to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, on Wednesday, seeking confirmation of the victim’s identity and other details of the case, had not been answered as of the time of filing this report.

Poisoned and left to die

A similar incident had occurred involving a driver who preferred to be known as Vincent Onyebuchi in 2016.

The father of four, who resided in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, described it as a nightmare that still haunts him even though it happened a decade ago.

“A man chartered my vehicle, a Sienna, from Port Harcourt to where he said he was residing in Owerri. He appeared cheerful, and we talked on the way to the state capital. When we arrived, he gave me some stout to drink, and we both sat and drank; that was the last thing I remembered.

“I was told that a bar owner found my body in Umuaka Village (about 30 minutes away from Owerri). They stole my car, which I had just bought at the time. If not for the good Samaritan who rushed me to the hospital, I would have died. They poisoned me and left me to die, but God sent that person to save me. Since then, I have difficulty trusting people,” Onyebuchi said.

He further disclosed that although the case was reported at a police station, he could not recover his stolen car.

A hideous trend

An X user, Shawn Tigana (@Nicoluchenzy), described the premeditated killing of drivers as “the new trend for criminals now.”

“I lost my friend through this same pattern a few years ago. His dead body was found in the bush. He had been strangled. I don’t think that his bus was recovered. We live in a wicked world,” he said.

Although efforts made by Sunday PUNCH to reach him for details of where and precisely when this happened were unsuccessful, several media reports have pointed to this insidious pattern.

In several cities and towns, a highly dangerous trend has emerged in which criminal syndicates pose as regular passengers to hire ride-hailing or commercial vehicles, only to ambush, rob, and brutally murder the drivers.

Crackdowns by the Nigeria Police Force have uncovered specialised syndicates operating primarily in urban centres like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

Some of these criminals use popular ride-hailing apps to request a ride, or lure commercial drivers privately under the pretence of hiring them for a long-distance event such as weddings, corporate trips or festive events in a far distance.

Once inside the vehicle, they direct the driver to a predetermined, lonely area or a secluded hideout.

In some instances, these criminals violently overpower the driver, frequently using knives, machetes or guns, resulting in fatal stabbings or strangulation.

Others use a more devious tactic of luring the unsuspecting driver inside a building, or offering them food laced with poisonous substances or sleeping pills.

From the confessions of these suspects, the primary motive appears to be vehicle theft – a specific targeting of high-demand models like the Toyota Camry to sell to waiting black-market receivers.

In extreme cases, some syndicates have also been linked to organ harvesting and ‘ritual killing.’

Gangs in Lagos

In January 2025, the Lagos State Command busted several gangs of armed robbers and recovered from them a large cache of arms.

These were not the kind of thieves who robbed people of home gadgets or smartphones.

Instead, their modus operandi was to target and kill private commercial vehicle operators, including e-hailing cab drivers in the state.

A former state Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Ishola, said 43 suspects were arrested for various criminal activities, including armed robbery, cultism, murder, child abuse, kidnapping, and illegal possession of firearms the previous year.

Ishola recounted how gangs of suspects contacted e-hailing drivers and other private commercial vehicle operators to rob them of their vehicles and kill them.

He said, “On January 9, 2025, at about 12 am, a case of conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder was reported. One Emeka Akwara, 19, David Segun, 21, Samuel Ariori, 21, and Lukman Ariori, 19, ordered the services of Uber at Chevron in the Lekki area en route to Obalende.

“On getting to Obalende, in a lonely area, they robbed and killed the Uber driver by stabbing him multiple times in the neck. Unfortunately, they were unable to snatch the vehicle. With the intervention of good Nigerians in the area, two suspects were immediately arrested and handed over to police operatives attached to Lion Building. Investigation further led to the arrest of the other two fleeing suspects of the dangerous gang in the Chevron area of Lagos.”

During the investigation, detectives found out that another Uber driver was killed in similar circumstances.

Two suspects, Edmond Abdoulaye and Saturday Okey, were tracked and arrested in connection with the crime.

The Toyota Camry they stole from the murdered driver was recovered and handed over to the family.

The case was charged to court, but unfortunately, the driver was killed. Ishola further stated that a third incident of such murder was reported within a month.

“We don’t know how many more have happened. Such cases of brutality are increasing,” the CP added.

•Suspects arrested in Lagos. Photo: Lagos State Police Command
Fake passenger, missing drivers

In June 2024, the Police Command in Rivers State arrested some members of a criminal gang suspected to be murdering car-hire drivers and stealing their vehicles.

A former state PPRO, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the group were linked to multiple cases of drivers who went missing.

One of the gang members, a graduate of Political Science from a tertiary institution in Port Harcourt, Anthony Chima, who was arrested, led down the trail to the exposure of the gang’s sinister activities.

It all started with the disappearance of an e-hailing cab driver, Oghenevwarhe Akpobome, on January 10.

On that fateful day, Akpobome received a request from Chima and was asked to be picked up at the residence of another gang member later identified as Reason.

Disguised as a passenger, Chima lured the unsuspecting driver to a remote area in Aminigboko community, where he met Reason and another gang member, General Effizy, along with four-armed gang members.

“The driver was forcefully removed from the vehicle and taken to Effizy’s shrine, where he was tied up, gagged and gruesomely murdered,” the police said.

Under interrogation, 35-year-old Chima confessed to being recruited into a gang that specialised in luring taxi drivers into ambushes and stealing their vehicles.

According to his testimony, the gang not only killed the drivers in the most gruesome way, but they also harvested their body parts for ritualistic purposes.

“The suspect said that he was introduced into the gang by his friend, Amfoh Abu, the group’s arms dealer, and another individual simply identified as ‘Reason.’

“Investigation further revealed that ‘General Effizy,’ the gang’s leader, is a prominent figure in the Greenland cult and a seasoned kidnapper in the state,” Grace Iringe-Koko added.

Chima confessed that he randomly obtained the e-hailing cab drivers’ phone numbers and pretended to be a passenger in need of a ride.

He also led the police to the shrine and Effizy’s residence, “where personnel recovered the victim’s skull and a locally fabricated Beretta pistol.”

•Three Lagos suspects who killed cab driver
Weed, money and three suspects

In June 2023, three students of Bingham University, Nasarawa State –Obasieyene Inem, Aaron Anthony, and Alasan Olusegun – were arrested by the police.

The three suspects, two of whom were on suspension from the university, were nabbed when the body of a man lying in a pool of his blood was found at Ngugu Close, Area 11, Garki, Abuja.

The deceased was later identified as Obsai Okeke, an e-hailing cab driver who was last seen alive on June 5, 2023.

According to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, in the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Okeke was called by one of the suspects to convey them to Guzape Area to buy weed (Cannabis sativa).

But after returning the suspects to their take-off point, the suspects discovered they had no money to pay for their trip and decided to play a fast one on the driver.

One of them showed him a fake debit alert on their phone, but the driver did not buy it; he insisted that he had not received any alert.

“In the ensuing argument, one of the suspects brought out a knife, slit the deceased’s throat and fled from the scene,” the former FCT CP, Harun Garba, said.

The CP added that the three suspects, who had confessed to committing the crime, would be charged to court upon completion of the investigation.

Reflection of moral disengagement – Forensic psychologist

Commenting on this criminal trend, a criminologist and forensic psychologist, Gbenga Oba, said it reflects a disturbing combination of calculated deception, instrumental aggression, and the willingness to treat another human being as an obstacle to personal gain.

“This mindset is called moral disengagement, the process through which individuals justify harmful actions or mentally detach themselves from the suffering of their victims.

“When the desire for material gains overrides empathy, a perpetrator may begin to view another person’s life as less important than the property they want to acquire.

“In some cases, impulsivity, greed, a sense of entitlement, or an established pattern of antisocial behaviour may also contribute. However, these factors do not affect every offender in the same way, and criminal behaviour alone does not establish a psychiatric diagnosis,” Oba said.

Explaining further, the criminologist said the deliberate use of kindness or legitimate bookings to gain a driver’s trust makes the conduct particularly disturbing.

Adding that such actions suggest that ordinary social trust is being weaponised to create an opportunity for violence.

“Where evidence establishes advance planning, the crime may reflect a calculated decision rather than a momentary loss of control. Addressing this behaviour requires both accountability and prevention.

“Rehabilitation may include structured psychological assessment, interventions targeting distorted beliefs and harmful behaviour, empathy development, and programmes addressing aggression and decision-making.

“Such interventions should be tailored to the individual and informed by professional assessment; rehabilitation must never replace accountability for serious violent crimes,” Oba added.

Oba also clarified that where evidence proves intentional murder and associated offences, the perpetrators should face prosecution under applicable law and proportionate punishment following a fair trial.

“Law enforcement and transport platforms must also strengthen identity verification, trip monitoring, emergency reporting, and the investigation of vehicle-related crimes.

“Ultimately, understanding the psychology behind such crimes is not about excusing the offender; it is about identifying risk factors, preventing future victims, and ensuring that justice is served,” he explained.

An organ-harvesting doctor

In early 2023, an ear-tingling criminal case rocked the core of many citizens who saw the headlines or read it on social media.

It was the grisly discovery of multiple bodies in connection with many missing persons and murders at a General Hospital in Kaiama, Kwara State.

What made the case more outrageous was the suspect at the centre of the crime, the former Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Abass Adeyemi – a man who had sworn a Hippocratic oath to save lives, but was found to be destroying it in secret.

In September 2022, Adeyemi invited a taxi driver, Emmanuel Agbovinuere, for a ride in Benin City, Edo State.

During his confession to the police, he said that when Agbovinuere complained of leg pain, he offered to help and injected him with a fatal substance, dumped his body on the road, and fled with the car.

Fortunately, while fleeing with the victim’s Toyota Camry, the 40-year-old suspect was intercepted in Osun State.

Police investigations at Kaiama General Hospital discovered shallow graves, altered floor tiles, and a decomposing body hidden beneath a mattress in the hospital store.

Following Adeyemi’s arrest, police investigations linked him to multiple missing persons and murders in Kwara State.

•3D illustration of armed thieves trying to steal a rental car
‘Drivers need to be alert’

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, a logistics expert, Ebenezer Akintunde, noted that private car owners are prone to security threats and insider crime and need to be trained to recognise this.

He added that a lack of security tips could make drivers fall victim even after what he described as ‘red flags’ occur during their interactions with passengers.

“As much as possible, drivers need to be wary of their passengers. If someone is chartering their car, then they should not carry more than one passenger at a time. In cases when the passenger is not known, the driver should insist such in searching them and make them sit in the front.

“It’s easier for a passenger to attack you from behind than sitting beside you. This might be more difficult for e-hailing cab drivers, and this is why the need for organisations and institutions to provide security tips to avoid falling victim to these criminals is important.

“Drivers should also be cautious while picking up or transporting passengers, particularly to remote or potentially dangerous areas. Someone should be checking up on them using trackers, and if a person wants to hire you to a far destination, make sure someone who is security-inclined knows your location at all times,” Akintunde said.

Also speaking, an e-hailing cab driver, Shola Kolawole, said it is safer to avoid high-risk hours, which he said include past midnight or very early in the morning, especially in certain urban areas or on isolated highways.

“For me, I don’t accept any ride from someone who calls directly on my app because the phone number is not seen. That’s like someone calling on the phone with an unknown number. I have to see the person’s phone number on my phone.

“We also check passenger ratings. I rarely accept rides from accounts with low ratings or brand-new accounts with no ride history during odd hours. Some people will cancel the trip on the app and offer you cash to take them ‘offline’ so their location can no longer be tracked. I don’t agree to such, especially if the person is a stranger,” Kolawole said.

He added that if passengers request a change of route into a dark or lonely area, drivers should trust their instincts, pull over in a crowded space, and terminate the ride.

“Drivers need to have a dashcam or a hidden GPS tracker that can be activated through a mobile app if their vehicle is snatched,” Kolawole added.