They said that four indigenes of the community have been abducted in the past two weeks with different sums of ransom paid for their freedom.
Some of them who spoke to The PUNCH on Wednesday said among the victims was the Catechist of Saint James Catholic Church, Ishioroto-Ikem, Mr. Lawrence Ndu.
Other victims, according to them, were an Italy based evangelist, Mr. Emeka Odo, and his brother Ikechukwu Odo; and the most recent victim, Ejike Agbodo, a bus driver who was kidnapped while on commercial duty along Ikem-Nkwo road.
One of the victims, Emeka Odo, who spoke to our correspondent, disclosed that his abductors were over 10 in number, adding that they abducted them along Ikem-Obollo Afor road and they were all Fulani terrorists that welded AK47 rifles.
Odo, who spoke through a WhatsApp voice call, said he had to quickly go back to his base in Italy after he regained his freedom.
According to him, they were flagged down in their car by the kidnappers and commandeered into the bush and were taken through bush tracks to Eha-Amufu and Benue Sate border.
He said “our kidnappers are Fulani and they told us that somebody is guiding them on the route. One of my brothers they kidnapped with me, who (understands) Hausa and Fulani languages, told us that the abductors were from Niger.”
Odo lamented that no security or government officials at the local government level cared to ask them what happened? “How did it happened? Where and when were we abducted and released. (The) South-East (is) really in trouble. Most of the terrorists were brought from Niger and Chad to come and overrun this place.”
Meanwhile, they said that the bus driver who was kidnapped on Tuesday has not been seen as of the time of this report.
When the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, was contacted on telephone, he declined comment.
