RAPHAEL EDE writes that many kidnap cases in Enugu State, which have remained unresolved, are sources of concern to families of victims and other residents of the state
Life has been hellish for Mrs Ukamaka Chukwu and her five children since November 19, 2021 when her husband, Mr Christian Chukwu, was kidnapped.
Mr Chukwu, 64, the traditional Prime Minister of Ugboka in the Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State was kidnapped in his house in Ugboka village on November 19, 2021. Three months after the incident, his whereabouts have remained a mystery despite the payment of N4.5m ransom to his captors.
Narrating how the husband was kidnapped, Mrs Chukwu said, “It was on November 19, 2021 around 8:30pm after our dinner. My husband was about taking his routine drugs because he is diabetic, suddenly six armed men invaded the house and demanded his car keys. The car was given to him in 2008 when he was a councillor but because he didn’t know how to drive he parked the vehicle in a garage and covered it. He gave them the keys but they asked him to start the car which he did.
“Thereafter, they pushed him inside the car and zoomed off. Meanwhile, while they were moving around with my husband they asked me to lie down. On Saturday, November 20 around 9:30am, they called and said I should bring N50m before he would be released. I told them that if I had such money I wouldn’t be in the village doing peasant farming.
“On Sunday, they called intermittently asking whether I had raised the money and how much I realized and they equally warned that we should not involve police or any other security agencies. So I told them that I had been able to raise N1.5m. They said I was not serious and switched off the phone and never called again. It was on Monday in the afternoon that they called and said they had reduced it to N4.5mn and it should be provided within 24 hours or they would kill my husband.
“In the evening of Monday, some community members and friends were able to raise N4.5m for us. On Tuesday morning when they called I overheard my husband crying in the background and I knew they were beating him. So I pleaded with them to spare his life, that the money had been raised and that it was with me.”
The traumatised wife further disclosed that throughout the negotiation, the kidnappers insisted that they would only speak with her and no other family member. They also warned that she should keep their discussion secret.
“Before switching off the phone when they called, my husband had told me to arrange the money that they could call any time. He thanked the people who raised the money for the ransom and that was the last I heard from him till today.
“So around 12pm, they called and told me to bring the money to Agbani. From there, they said I should bring it to Amagunze. Immediately, I stepped out of a vehicle at Amagunze, they called again and requested to know the type of dress I wore which I described to them. Thereafter, they asked me to take a bike to Afor Ezza in Ezza-Agu, Ishielu LGA of Ebonyi State, but before I could get to Afor-Ezza, they called again and asked that I should stop and start coming back”, she narrated weeping, adding that the motorcyclist (okada man) conveying at that point became angry and wanted to abort the trip.
“After about a kilometre drive, they called again and said we should turn back. At this time they had come out to drop red cloth on the road. When we turned they said I should stop by the cloth and on getting there a masked man came out and collected the money from me and asked me to leave,” she said, lamenting “I was expecting that after collecting the ransom that they would release my husband that night or the following morning, but as we speak I haven’t seen him and their phone is switched off.”
Her son, Chukwu James, told our correspondent that the gunmen would have kidnapped him too if not that he stepped out to buy sachet water in the neighbourhood. “I came back from work and my mother brought my dinner but I asked her to keep it so that I could get water in the neighbourhood.
He said he reported to the police. James stated, “I was still with the police when people called to inform them that the kidnappers had left the community heading towards Agbani. Again, I pleaded with the operatives to do something, that there were several escape routes along the road but they wouldn’t listen and the kidnappers finally escaped with my father.”
Meanwhile, the Chukwus are not alone in their grief; the family of His Royal Highness, Igwe Donald Nwochi of Etiti-Ozalla Autonomous in Nkanu West LGA, has not located their breadwinner since December 24, 2021 when he was abducted by unknown men in police uniform in his Royal Centre hotel at Ozalla Four Corners along Enugu Port-Harcourt expressway.
The family had paid N2.5m ransom his captors demanded, yet his whereabouts had remained a mystery.
Prince Chisom Nwochi said the disappearance of his father had put their family into unimaginable trauma, regretting that the local government, state traditional rulers, state government and the police appeared unconcerned about the incident.
Chisom disclosed that his family reported the abduction to the authorities in the state without any result.
Narrating how the monarch was kidnapped, he said, “On December 24, 2021, my father woke up in the morning and addressed us, his household, because he was planning to kill a cow for the community to celebrate Christmas. Thereafter, he directed us on what to do, that he was going to his hotel to see his staff.
“Less than 30 minutes after he left the house, his manager and another worker ran to the house to inform us that some persons in police uniform came to the hotel and took the Igwe away in a black Siena van with no number plate.
“Immediately, I called his two mobile lines and they were all switched off. I went with his staff to the Ozalla police division and reported the incident. The DPO immediately made some calls and he told me that the people that took him away were not policemen.
“I called my in-law, who is in the state capital and he immediately reported the incident to the State Criminal Investigation Department. Meanwhile, while he was reporting the matter to the state, I rushed to Agbani Area Command and equally reported the incident. He equally reported it to the police Anti-kidnapping Unit.
“At about 4pm, the kidnappers called and demanded N100m which my mother told them that we didn’t have. Later, they reduced it to N20m. After negotiations they accepted to collect N2.5m which my family was able to raise.”
Chisom, however, explained that the kidnappers were monitoring his movement, stating that they called on December 25, warning that they saw me going to the police that I should stop forthwith before they would do what they didn’t want to do.
He further narrated that his family was negotiating with the captors until December 27 when the N2.5m was raised. “Earlier, during one of their calls, they told my mother that when the money was ready that she should bring it with my father’s clothes.
“Around 4pm, they called and asked my mother to come to Eke Agbani market with the money in a carton and should include his clothes with his footwear. They also instructed that she should not come in a private car. She followed all their instructions until she got to Amagunze where they asked her to take a bike to the Enugu – Ebonyi boundary where they collected the money. She waited hoping that they will release him after collecting the ransom but they never did and she came back.”
Chisom said that to date, his father’s whereabouts remained unknown and he appealed to the state government to intervene.
Also in similar development, Ikechukwu Chitor and Emmanuel Igwuye, who were said to have been kidnapped on the first week of December 2021 have yet to be found.
The duo, who hailed from Iga in the Uzo-Uwani LGA, were said to have been kidnapped near Nimbo along Nsukka-Adani federal road.
While Chitor was first abducted, Igwuye was taken hostage when he delivered a N3m ransom to the kidnappers.
A community source told our correspondent that when Igwuye was held hostage, an additional N1m was paid for his release but the whereabouts of the two victims had remained a mystery.
Meanwhile, efforts to get reaction of the state police command, were on successful as the spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, did not respond to queries on efforts of the police to combat kidnapping in the state.
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