Gunmen abduct medical doctor in South-east

Gunmen have abducted a medical doctor in Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the victim, Cornelius Onuigbo, was abducted on Tuesday evening at the gate of his residence in Nnewi Area of the state.

Mr Onuigbo, a urologist, works in the Department of Surgery at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital in Nnewi.

Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the gunmen ambushed the medical doctor with their vehicle, forced him into it, and zoomed off.

“The doctor was coming back from work when the kidnappers stopped him and forced him into their car and drove off,” one source, who asked not to be named, said.

An official of the teaching hospital told this newspaper that the management had been notified of the attack.

“As an institution, we have been officially notified about the kidnap. We are trying our best,” the official, who asked not to be named, said.

Police speak

When contacted on Wednesday afternoon, the police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said police operatives had been mobilised to track down the abductors and rescue the victim.

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“The commissioner, CP Obono Itam, has given orders for this, and men of the command are currently at work,” he said.

Increased attacks

Like other states in Nigeria’s South-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.

The latest attack occurred days after the Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, launched a new security outfit, Agunechemba, and a security operation to tackle insecurity in the state.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.