“Anytime he knocks on my door, I would quickly pull my pants to avoid his anger. Hefty must have his way or you will be killed,” claimed Chidinma Madu, a 32-year-old woman who resides around the Lumark area in Ijegun Satellite town, Lagos State.

Chidinma was arrested by Lagos State Police Command when the community alerted the police of the activities of a gang popularly known as Crack Squad that had been raiding the community with impunity. She was believed to be an accomplice because of the regular visits to her by a notorious cultist known as Hefty currently on the wanted list of the police.

According to police sources, the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi had sworn that he would leave no stone unturned until Hefty is picked up. Hefty, whose real name is Nduka, is believed to be a hard drug peddler and responsible for most of the recent raids on hotels, residential homes, and business centers in the area.

Some of the other suspects who were arrested alleged that he is the founder of the group and is respected by several security agencies. Other members of the group are alleged to be Aleke Onyeka aka Valentino, Offor Celestine Igwe, Ikechukwu Chikwa, Umaru Galadinma, Anthony Nwachukwu, Odo Solomon and Gabriel Blessing.

I became his sex slave – Chidinma

According to Chidinma who hails from Anambra, she was forced to comply when Hefty stole everything from her. “I relocated to Lagos with my younger brother in search of greener pastures. I was selling soft drinks and handbags. With the money I raised; a friend introduced me to the business of selling hard drugs known as ice (Mkpurumiri). Immediately Hefty heard about it, he invaded our house and stole everything. He also forced me to transfer the entire money in my account to him. He was holding a gun, so I had no choice to obey him.

“He raped me that day and said that I was now his property. I was scared and ran to the police area command in Festac to report the matter. I also reported the matter at the Agboju Police Station and was waiting for results. That night, Hefty came with some of his boys and kidnapped me after beating me up. He kept shouting that someone saw me inside the police station and informed him. He used the butt of his gun to give me this mark on my face. I was kept in an uncompleted building for three days while he and some of his boys took turns to rape me. 

“When they finally released me, I could not report them again but to accept my fate. I am not lying, you can go and ask questions. If you have a daughter around that area, the best thing is to take them far away from Ijegun. The people fear him. So many girls have been raped by that man and he brags that most of the security operatives in the area are his friends. He is not only a rapist and robber, he also sells drugs in large quantities. I am afraid of leaving the police station because he can attack me,” she pleaded.

Chidinma who is popularly known as ‘Sweet’ among the street touts, claimed that she was evicted from her former house because of the constant visits by Hefty. “My former landlord was attacked several times during one of such visits. This was why he evicted me from his compound. I do not have a nickname. They call me ‘Sweet’ because Hefty calls me that. You are sweet and most of his gang members whom he forced to sleep with me, joined in calling me that name. I am his sex slave and there is nothing I can do about it,” she said in tears.  

The second lady, Blessing Gabriel who was also arrested during the raid, admitted that she is a member of the Vikings Queen Confraternity. She said it was necessary for her to identify with one cult group, else the likes of Hefty would oppress her.

Popularly known as Star Girl, Blessing, who resides in Olasuloye Street, Ijegun Egba, Satellite town alleged that Hefty formed the Crack Squad to oppress other drug peddlers in the area.

Hear her: “I am from Edo State and I read Mass Communication at the Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria in Kaduna State. After my OND (Ordinary National Diploma), I couldn’t further my education because my father died. My mother, who was a full-time housewife, could not help out and I moved down to Lagos to hustle. Meanwhile while in school, I got pregnant with my lover but he refused to marry me. He said that he was too young to be trapped with raising children. I had no choice but to carry my cross alone.  I also joined the Viken Queens Confraternity.

“I left my children with my mother and entered the street to hustle. I initially started hawking drinks at Alaba International Market in the Ojo area till I discovered that most of the people living in the Ijegun area in Satellite town lived on hard drugs. My boyfriend then was also a drug dealer and he taught me the business. I used to get the supplies from the Alabarago area. I make up to N5000 gain on a daily basis.

“All was well till Hefty became a terror. He is a known drug peddler and hates competition. He formed a gang and started oppressing everyone, especially single women. He would just invade my house and rob me. He will seize my drugs and steal my money. I had no choice but to join their gang known as the Crack squad. I did it to protect myself. To secure me, I share the ice popularly known as Mkpurumiri to them.”

On her arrest, Blessing claimed that she was indicted in the kidnap of her ex-boyfriend. “Offor was my boyfriend. He is a married man but he relocated his family to the east when his business started crumbling. I was around the club when he was kidnapped. This was why he concluded that I am the one who planned his kidnapping. He reported the matter and the police raided the area. Unfortunately, when they came, I was holding a pistol that Hefty left in my house,” she narrated.

On life as a drug peddler, Blessing claimed that she had been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) but was released after some weeks.

“That was sometime in January. The NDLEA operatives asked me to name all those who used to sell drugs in our area. I can’t do that because somehow the news will leak and they will kill me when I return. When they could not find a single drug with me, they had no choice but to release me. One Obiora who is my friend advised me to go and settle NDLEA since they have noticed me.

“I sell handbags online and I used my room as pick-up point or I send it through dispatch riders. I sell the drugs on the street and most of my customers have my phone number. The most lucrative of all the drugs is the ice, popularly known as mkpurumiri. It sells very fast because it is very affordable. An individual can use N1500 worth of the drugs for one week,” she alleged.

The Crack Squad

According to police sources, Hefty is the leader of the Crack Squad made up of different suspected cultists from different fraternities and his main base is at Ijegun Egba in Satellite town. Their activities became known when business owners reported that a new gang has been raiding the area with impunity. The State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi deployed the police special squad and in less than 48 hours, seven suspects were arrested.  The seven confessed to being part of the gang and have participated in one robbery operation or the other. They alleged that Hefty formed the group initially to control the drug business in the area but decided to add robbery and kidnapping. Currently at large are Hefty, Amadi popularly known as Black diamond and Walter. They are said to have fled the community when they learned that most of their members had been arrested by the police.

Umoru, who hails from Borno State, claims to be a member of Vikings Confraternity while Onyeka is a member of the Eiye fraternity. Their leader, Hefty is of the Aiye fraternity.

According to Onyeka, the coming together of different cult groups to form a squad reduced clashes in the area. “Since 2019 that Hefty formed this group in Ijegun, I have not heard of any sort of clash. Initially, he formed the group to crack down on hard drug peddlers because he wanted to be in control of the drug market in Ijegun. Gradually, he started introducing us to armed robbery. He is powerful and well-connected. I don’t know why he has not come to save us. He can sleep with any woman that he admires in that area and if you refuse, he will carry the gang to rob your family and rape you in their presence. He is good at kidnapping girls, and he will keep them for days until he gets tired of raping them. He is known in the area but they fear him because the military, police, or Nigerian Civil Defence operatives cannot arrest him,” he alleged.

He confirmed that Chidinma was kidnapped severally by Hefty and his men anytime he is sexually starved. “If they send for her and she fails to come, he will send boys to grab her,” he alleged.