One person was shot dead while 10 people were kidnapped in separate attacks by gunmen in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria’s South-east.
The attacks occurred between Tuesday and Wednesday in two separate communities in the council area, PREMIUM TIMES gathered.
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How the attacks happened
The latest attacks began on Tuesday on the outskirts of the Umulokpa Community in the council area.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the hoodlums, suspected to be herders, kidnapped Vincent Nweke, a chainsaw machine operator and the President-General of the community, Linus Ezeh.
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Mr Ezeh, in a video clip obtained by this newspaper, said the gunmen first ambushed and kidnapped him near his rice farmland in the community.
The president-general narrated that the gunmen, numbering about six, then tied him to a tree before attacking Mr Nweke upon hearing the sound of his chainsaw machine in the nearby bush.
He said the hoodlums, after abducting Mr Nweke, also tied him to a tree and later dragged both of them around the bush.
“Around 7 p.m., they dragged us to this place (pointing) and tied us to different trees. Five of them left to harvest yams from a farmland while one stayed back to monitor us.
“The chainsaw machine operator loosened the rope and began to run. Then, they shot him dead and left his body,” Mr Ezeh narrated in Igbo language.
The clip showed the decomposing body of Mr Nweke, the slain chainsaw machine operator.
The president-general said that the following day (Wednesday), the hoodlums forced him to phone his relatives for ransom or he would be killed.
He said they initially asked for N30 million ransom before it was negotiated down to N2.5 million, which they picked at Ukpata Community in the same council area before releasing him in the community.
“They had asked my brother who brought the ransom to buy cigarettes for them, which he did. Upon arrival, they forced my brother to smoke one of the cigarettes first,” he said.
Second attack
At about 5:47 p.m. on Wednesday, some gunmen ambushed and abducted nine people travelling from Eke Akiyi in Umulokpa Community to Iwollo, another community in Ezeagu Local Government Area of the state.
It is unclear, for now, if the hoodlums were the people who carried out the previous attack.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the attack occurred in Adaba Community at a boundary between Amagu, another village in Umulokpa, and Olo, a community in the Ezeagu Local Government Area of the state.
The victims were six women, a man and two teenage boys.
This newspaper has now identified the victims as Christiana Chukwuemeka, Sabina Okeke, Okorie Chukwuemeka, Albert Ugochukwu, and Eberechukwu Okoye.
Others were Nkem Collins, Nwankwo Charity, Eze Augustina, and Chijioke Ezieke.
They were, however, rescued on Thursday when some Adaba youths mobilised themselves and confronted the kidnappers inside a forest where the victims were forced into by the hoodlums.
The President-General of Adaba Community, Fabian Amalunwaeze, was said to have led the youths into the bush for the rescue operation.
One of the victims, Mrs Okeke, narrated, in another video clip, how the attack and rescue happened.
“We went to Umulokpa Market yesterday (Wednesday) and started travelling back after back to Iwollo after the day’s business.
“When we got to Amagu, Umulokpa, we noticed a gunshot on one of our vehicle tyres. We were still wondering before we saw armed men coming out of the bush.
“They ordered us to lie down, collected all our valuables from us and forced us to move into the bush. We all trekked throughout the night,” she narrated in Igbo language.
The woman said the hoodlums, later on Thursday, introduced themselves as kidnappers and informed them that they would pay N30 million ransom each or face death.
“I told them we hadn’t seen N30 million before, but they scolded me, saying we have been doing business in different markets.
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“I responded that they had collected all we had made from yesterday’s business from us. And one of them slapped me,” Mrs Okeke said.
“They used our phones to call our relatives, informing each of them to pay N30 million or they would kill us and dump our bodies in the bush.”
The victim said they were planning to sleep off when some Adaba youths surfaced in the bush and confronted the hoodlums.
“The (suspected) herders fired shots at the youths and absconded immediately. The bullets did not hurt the community youths.
“They (the youths) came and rescued us from the valley of death,” she said.
Multiple indigenes of the two communities confirmed the separate attacks to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday evening.
However, one of the residents who identified himself as Anthony said attacks by suspected herders in the council area have been frequent in recent times.
Police mum
The police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, did not respond to calls seeking his comments.
In response to a WhatsApp message, Mr Ndukwe, a superintendent of police, asked this reporter to await a formal press release for “accurate insights” on the incident.
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