Gunmen kidnap 5 in Ebonyi community
No fewer than five persons have been reportedly kidnapped by yet-to-be-identified gunmen, in Ebonyi State.
The incident, The PUNCH learnt took place at about 5:30 pm on Tuesday along the ever busy Mile 2 axis of the Ishiagu/Okigwe express road, Ebonyi State.
The victims were said to be returning home from Enugu Airport with an airport taxi (Sienna bus) with reg/no. KWL 941 PD before they were kidnapped at the Mile 2 area, Ishiagu, in the Ivo Local Government Area of the state and taken into the nearby bush by their assailants.
A community source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, gave the names of the victims as one 41-year-old Ajah Chibuzor; his wife; their 12-year-old daughter; and the airport driver.
The source further revealed that the hoodlums, while taking the victims into the bush, ran into a farmer on his farm and also abducted him.
He stated that the vehicle conveying the victims was abandoned at the scene of the incident, but was later recovered and taken to Ishiagu Police Station.
The PUNCH reports that no fewer than 20 persons have been kidnapped along the axis in the last four months, leading to the killing of four persons by the rampaging hoodlums suspected to be herdsmen.
Women in the area had in April staged a protest which later turned violent, following the continued abduction of innocent residents of the area by hoodlums.
When contacted, the Special Assistant to Governor Francis Nwifuru on Internal Security, Ivo Local Government Area, Ike Cletus, confirmed the incident.
He regretted the council area had become a haven for kidnappers, attributing the development to non-functional Vigilante in the area.
He further said apart from the military personnel on the express road, the vigilante group set up by the council was not functional and called for a total overhaul of the security architecture in the local government area.
He said, “It’s s unfortunate that Ivo Local Government has become a safe haven for kidnappers and other criminal elements. We have a none functional vigilante group in the Local Government. You hardly see them anywhere in the Local Government, yet money is spent on them monthly without any fruitful result.
“The security architecture of the Local Government, especially that of the Local Vigilante Group must be overhauled and make it more efficient.”
Efforts to reach the Ebonyi Police Command for comments on the matter, failed as of the time of filing this report, on Wednesday.
Calls made to the mobile of the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, were not picked up. She was yet to respond to messages sent to her line.
