*Residents, commuters appeal for urgent govt intervention
With an average of ten kidnap cases every week in the past three months, commuters in the ever busy Ninth Mile Corner Eke-Oghe-Aguobu-Owa Road have appealed to the Federal and Enugu State Governments, including the various security agencies for urgent intervention to beef security in the area.
It has been reported that residents of the area are living daily under fears of being kidnapped or their communities invaded by terrorists, due to regular cases of kidnapping being carried out by Fulani Militia and cattle rearers who have taken over the length of the forests along the Ajalli River.
These hoodlums also attack communities contiguous to the Ajalli River in Imezi-Owa, Omughu Umana, Obunofia Ndiuno and Obinofia Ndiagu respectively, keeping the people there in perpetual fear for their lives.
According to reports, there kidnapping cases have been reported almost on daily basis at Ugwu Chief Onyeama N’Eke, between Eke and Akama Oghe, and the stretch of road between Aguobu-Owa and Akama Oghe, and also between Umana Ndiagu and Umana Ndiuno up t the Enugu-Onitsha expressway
It was learnt that the marauders always laid siege to attack on-coming vehicles with heavy logs of wood which they use to barricade the roads, abduct their passengers, jet off to the Ajalli River and demand for ransom.
It was further gathered that the abductors would carry the victims into the bush, rape some of their victims, torture their male victims and demand ransom from their relatives.
This ugly incident usually happens between 8.00pm and 5.00 am on each fateful day.
The latest kidnap victim was one Sunday Obueze, alias Igbojaa, a native of Aguobu-Owa, who was travelling to Enugu with his children, on Sunday, June 12, when he ran into the hoodlums, who immediately kidnapped him and moved to the Ajalli River bed toward Imezi-Owa.
The kidnappers blocked his vehicle at the Ugwu Chief Onyeama N’Eke, around 8.00pm, dragged him out and took him inside the bush, leaving his little children inside the vehicle crying endlessly.
The children were inside the till the following morning when they were rescued.
Sunday’s abductors reportedly tied him on a tree and began to demand N40 million ransom for his release, but after negotiation, it came down to N3 million, which was paid before the man secured his freedom.
The regular incident has been occurring in spite of daily Police Checkpoints mounted by both the Udi and Ezeagu Police Divisional Headquarters just 700 meters apart at the Ugwu Chief Onyeama N’Eke axis.
The presence of the poorly equipped Forest Guard Operatives do not deter this daily nefarious activity.
What worries the natives and residents of the area us that inspire of the routine strategy deployed by the kidnappers, law enforcement agencies seem unperturbed to curb this anomaly as they never carried out any operation to stop such ugly incidences apart from the mounting of road blocks to extort law abiding citizens.
Such extortionist road blocks become inactive and dissolve as from 6pm daily, giving way to the hoodlums to take over.
Chief Okeke Igboanugo, native of Oyofo Oghe; Ozo Nnebedum of Awha Imezi; Chief John Okechi of Aguobu-Owa and Ichie Sampson Ozoanieke of Omughu Umana, have alleged to President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to address this issue which they believe can be halted before it gets out of hand as the area of operation of the terrorists and their modus operandi are simply routine.
They also appealed for the arming of the youths of the communities
contiguous to the Ajalli River through the official quarters to deal with the menace if government do not want to deal with it now it is still in its infancy stages.
