Chidi Azuma: A pedophile, serial rapist and ex-jail bird

By Kalu Okoronkwo

The criminal justice system is designed to isolate society’s most dangerous individuals, ensuring they are stripped of the power to harm others. However, in some cases, even the confines of prison walls fail to suppress the sinister influence of a truly manipulative mind.

This is a chilling story of Chidi Azuma, a pedophile and serial rapist, who, despite facing a pending plea for leniency case, operated as a Capone behind bars, exploiting systemic weaknesses and extending his reach far beyond his cell.He was being charged for a case that carries life imprisonment upon conviction owing to his unspeakable acts of repeated sexual violence and exploitation of his 11-year-old step- daughter.

This girl and perhaps many other children yet to be identified, bore the scars of his actions for life, that necessitated his wife to rally for justice to ensure he would never harm another soul.

His was bundled into the Kirikiri prison waiting to be sentenced and had languished in prison for about five months without any hope for his rescue as his wife looked the other way and blatantly shut off every plea to rescue him.With no hope for him and having been indicted by the authorities, his younger brother contacted me while I was away in Abuja and briefed me about his incarceration and wanting me to intervene.

First, I was skeptical given my experience with him in a recent incident of fraudulent manipulation. But with intense pressure mounted on me by relations and friends including Chidi who came up with a story about how the Holy Spirit told him I can help him out.

I was shocked that he could call me from prison given the restrictions on such facility and an act by an awaiting trial inmate, but I waved it off as a Nigerian thing.

However, after considering that his continued incarceration will jeopardize the chances of his children from pursuing reasonable and best life especially after he had suffered the loss of his first wife, I returned and approached the authorities on his behalf and luckily, it yielded positive results to the relief of everyone.The impediment became his wife, because she has to withdraw the case to enable us proceed with the clemency plan. Before now, the wife never allowed any member of his family access.

I traced her to one obscure hotel at Igando, a Lagos suburb, where she was doing janitorial work. We went home and I allowed her to bare her mind and also used the opportunity to see the bitterness in her. “This is not the first or second time my husband is raping this small girl, the last one he accepted to do the traditional things as a way of pardoning him so that we can move on but sir, while we were planning to do that, my husband raped this small girl again, is it good?” she queried amidst sobbing. She however brought out the girl and showed me and also Chidi’s daughter she birthed for him.

At that juncture, I was a bit confused and tensed and my heart racing either to abandon the pursuit of the matter or continue as the sight of the little girl made me sad. I began to wonder what if she was my daughter, what will I do? As she noticed my confusion and quietness, she continued: “Sir there is nothing I can do even though I respect you as my family and the father of the child have made up their mind that the case will go on, so please sir I am at work” she said.

Being a man that hates to abort my mission, I sat her down and told her the implication of her husband being in jail for life, promised her to be by her and she should see reason that even her own daughter with Chidi will share the pains of her father’s life imprisonment.

At that juncture, she started telling me how she became Chidi’s wife. “Sir, this man will not change” she quipped. “I was not anything to this man, just knew him and the children, when the wife died, I came in to assist since the kids were still small and this man started using me, can you also see that?” She asked me with an eye filled with hatred and bitterness.

I was bitter at that point myself and remembered an incident when I was still younger in the village and brother Chidi as we often called him then was staying at Awada, in Onitsha. There was this story of a missing money paid his father or something related to that as gratuity. We were told the money was traced to him at his residence at Awada, where police authorities found him having threesome with ladies.

That memory came back and I concluded that Chidi had a long history of preying on the vulnerable, leaving behind in its wake shattered lives and unimaginable pain.

Everyone in my community has a tale about him whom he has one way or the other defrauded, from selling none existing electronics to unsuspecting customers in Alaba market, Lagos to outright stealing. I recalled how I introduced him to a Yoruba Chief and friend as an electronics product dealer to supply electronic products to his hotel at Ikeja, Lagos worth about N1m. After his beautiful presentation, money exchanged hands and the problem started. Till this day, the man is not happy with me for introducing a fraudster to him, as he trusted and relied on my decision.

I also recalled when The New Narrative Newspaper just started, Chidi approached me to be the advert manager for Alaba Market and I should just give him an ID card which was promptly given to him and from what I am told till today, he still carries the ID card about, however the only one page advert he got worth N400k has not been remitted till today.

When his father died and almost the same time, his wife also died, he ran to me, I raised money from few Kingsmen and gave 50% of the sum contributed and I never saw him again until when he faces another challenge and as my elder by over a decade, I will always defer to him. Time will not permit me to talk about the people that warned me about him and I should forget him to face his karma, but the obligation of assisting my Kingsman and brother not to go to jail for life could not allow me heed the warnings.

I convinced her wife and she agreed not to pursue the case and I was relieved. I reached out to the authorities and was told to extract affidavit from her which will be published online. It took me five days shuttling between Igando and Ikeja to perfect the affidavit. That was the major hurdle against Chidi’s release as the authorities did not bring him to court again for further trial, while considering and processing his eventual pardon.

As the processes continued, I had this job at Abuja that delayed my coming to Lagos to affect his final release and those he told to call me, I explained that everything has been done and once I am in Lagos, final procedures will be completed.

Coming down to Lagos on the 5th of December, 2024, I went straight to the judiciary authorities for his eventual release. His file was called up and there the drama started: file is missing. Chidi called me from prison 15 times as I was told someone there informed him of my presence and may implicate them. He begged me on phone that the file has been removed from that office, I should please save him that I delayed in coming and they wanted his release faster. As I was thinking about this drama that seemed like a dream, his biggest collaborator and elder sister, called me. At this juncture I was angry and no longer interested in talking to them. But for the evidence I wanted, I picked the call and she pleaded with me to save the situation to avoid further investigation on the file. As I was dropping the call, a very close Kinsman called that Chidi and his sister have been calling him to plead with me, not to investigate the stealing of the file as it will land them into trouble.

At that point, I was worried. Many questions raced through my mind as to what their intentions were since I have completed the process of his release. Why steal the file?. Is it that he could not just be patient till I come or is there any other ulterior motive? But stealing the file is another criminal matter and I can’t get involved. If things go wrong tomorrow, I may have some serious issues with law enforcement agencies. On that note, I had to get the authorities to know about the development just in case, because the crime committed in conniving with officials yet to be unmasked is grievous and in layers as preliminary findings points to circumventing the system at the final stage. I will not be part of such whatever their intentions are.

It became obvious that as a criminal minded person, once Chidi entered the prison, and most likely not his first time, he cultivated relationships with influential inmates and even prison staff and gained access to privileges that allowed him to have a permanent phone which in the first instance is illegal.

His story as an unrepentant predator who from the confinement of prison bars stole files from legal authorities handling his matter even when he has almost been legally set free is a sobering reminder of the vulnerabilities in our institutions, especially the judiciary and a stark warning about the dangers of underestimating the antics of determined criminals.

While the justice system strives for fairness and rehabilitation, it must also prioritize the safety of society by ensuring that those who pose an undeniable risk remain securely confined.

The earlier Chidi and his cohorts on the corridors of our highly esteemed institutions are investigated and brought to book to play  a crucial role in curbing societal vices by upholding justice and reinforcing the rule of law, the better our pursuit of a better society will seem progressive.Also, a thorough investigation will ensure that evidence is collected and presented transparently, fostering public trust in our legal institutions and highlighting the consequences of unlawful behavior while promoting social responsibility.

Kalu Okoronkwo, a leadership and good governance advocate writes from Lagos Nigeria and can be reached via kalu.okoronkwo@gmail.com