Herdsmen have allegedly kidnapped seven persons in the last one week along the major road in Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State, South East Nigeria.
Sources confirmed that the victims had just returned home for the Christmas and New Year celebrations when they were abducted.
One of the indigenes of the Agu-Amede community, Eha-Amufu and a community leader, Mr Divine, who said his brother who returned for the celebrations is among the abducted victims, noted that there has been an upsurge in the abductions by hoodlums suspected to be herdsmen along the Eha-Amufu-Ikem road in recent times.
“There is no road or security in Isi-Uzo LGA and it is made worse because of bad road. I am begging the governor to look into our plight and save us from the incessant kidnapping along the Eha-Amufu-Agu-Amede-Ikem federal road. Within this year alone, we have recorded no fewer than 10 abductions with 23 people involved.
“Our people have paid several millions of Naira in ransom to herdsmen, while about three people were killed along the road by the same bandits,” he stated.
Another resident, Nwonye added that within one week, over seven kidnap incidents had been witnessed within the same axis.
“The same bandits after releasing a Catholic priest in one of the parishes in Eha-Amufu, on Monday kidnapped about five people just after the Federal College of Education.
“As it is now, the abductors have not contacted us. The last time they kidnapped the eight-year-old daughter of the chairman of the Agu-Amede community, the Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Lawal, told us to go and pay ransom to the kidnappers. That has worsened our situation as police hardly come when contacted for any case of kidnapping,” he stated.
Nwonye said due to the spike in kidnapping incidents along the Eha-Amufu-Agu-Amede-Ikem road and the fear of being abducted has made him abandon his rice farm.
Lending his voice to the increase in kidnapping cases, another community leader, Raymond Ugwu lamented that the incessant cases of kidnapping incidents can be checked by fixing the bad road which is barely five kilometres.
He stated that “The kidnapping along the Eha-Amufu-Ikem road is largely because of bad road. Every time, our people are running on that road and we don’t have any other option than that. On Monday, they kidnapped our people, but I don’t know exactly the number; but they are more than two.
“The report I got was that the kidnappers started their operation from 5pm and that was the time our people were returning to their villages and communities. Kidnappers are making the road miserable for us. Our people are no longer going to the market. They are no longer moving around safely; everybody is running helter-skelter.”
The Enugu State Police Command was yet to release an official statement at the time of filing this report.
Copyright Eons Intelligence