Five persons kidnapped in Ebonyi while returning from Enugu
Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Gunmen have kidnapped five persons along the ever-busy Mile 2 axis of the Ishiagu-Okigwe expressway in Ebonyi State.
The victims were said to be returning home from Enugu Airport in an airport taxi Siena space bus with Registration Number KWL 941 PD when they were kidnapped at Mile 2 area in Ishiagu and taken into the nearby bush by the gunmen.
According to a community source, the victims are members of one family and a driver conveying them home.
“The man, his wife, his 12-year-old daughter, and the driver are still in the hands of the kidnappers”, the source lamented.
The source told Ikengaonline that the hoodlums while taking the victims into the bush also met a farmer on his farm and abducted him.
He stated that the vehicle conveying the initial four victims was abandoned at the scene of the incident but was later recovered and taken to Ishiagu Police Station by security operatives.
Kidnapping has become rampant on the road with an estimated 20 persons kidnapped along the axis in the last four months with about four of the victims killed by the kidnappers.
The women of the community had few months ago staged a protest, which later turned violent, following the continued abduction of innocent residents of the area by the hoodlums.
An INEC official and farmer were killed by suspected kidnappers on the road recently and the wife of the INEC staff kidnapped was later rescued.
Special Assistant to the Ebonyi State Governor on Internal Security for Ivo Local Government Area, Ike Cletus, confirmed the latest abduction.
He expressed regret that the local government has become a safe haven for kidnappers.
He attributed the rising insecurity in tye area to the non-functionality of the local vigilante group in the LGA.
Mr Cletus expressed concern that apart from the military personnel at the expressway, the vigilante group set up by the Council was not functional even as he called for a total overhaul of the security architecture of the LGA.
“It is unfortunate that Ivo Local Government has become a safe haven for kidnappers and other criminal elements.
“We have a non-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,” the governor’s security aide stated.
He maintained that the administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru was determined to ensure the security of lives and properties of all citizens and residents of Ebonyi State.
