ENUGU-PORT HARCOURT EXPRESSWAY: Life near military check-point where kidnappers have turned their haven

ENUGU-PORT HARCOURT EXPRESSWAY: Life near military check-point where  kidnappers have turned their haven

Port Harcourt expressway considered to be one of the busiest highways in Nigeria  has become travellers’ nightmare as it is now a haven for kidnappers. Surprisingly, this business of kidnapping for ransom is thriving in the area despite the numerous military and police checkpoints mounted on the road. With the development, motorists have been avoiding the road, just like some other roads in the South East where gunmen have succeeded in scaring road users away.

The most dangerous segment of the expressway is the Lokpa (Abia State) to Okigwe (Imo State) axis which also hosts one of the biggest cattle markets in the country. The area also boasts of thick forests which provide natural habitat for the cattle and the nomadic herdsmen that frequent these forests.

When cattle market was established at Lokpanta along the expressway and the traders moved the market from Umuahia to the area, residents of the surrounding communities welcomed it with open hands, believing it would help boost their economy. After over 15 years of the existence of the market in that area, the host communities might be regretting donating their valuable farmlands for the building of the cattle market because the frequent kidnappings in the area have heightened insecurity for them.

Victims of the abduction, who were lucky to narrate their ordeal tell frightening stories of how the kidnappers have made the entire Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State their camps with such things as mass graves,  sophisticated weapons, motorcycles and charms being the common features.

In the last six months, dozens of people have been kidnapped in that axis and the family members of the victims have had to pay millions of naira to ensure the release of their relations. From the account of the victims, the kidnappers are mainly people from outside the area, although some of them speak fluent Igbo and English languages.

Last week, the gunmen abducted four Reverend Sisters belonging to the Congregation of Sisters of Jesus the Saviour and for two days, kept them in the forest. Those abducted were Rev Sisters Johannes Nwodo, Christabel Echemazu, Liberata Mbamalu and Benita Agu who were returning to their convent after attending a Mass. Although the Rev Sisters had since regained their freedom, one could imagine the trauma they were subjected to.by their abductors.

Earlier on August 12, a Catholic Priest, who is the Registrar of Spiritan University, Nneochi located in the same axis of Umunneochi local government area of Abia State, Rev Father Chinedu Nwadike and a Seminarian, Emmanuel Nwafor were kidnapped by gunmen on their way from the university to  Enugu and their kidnappers demanded a ransom of N50 million to effect the release of the victims.

A month earlier, a top official of the university who hailed from Amesi in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State and his female colleagues were also kidnapped as they were returning home from work. His people contributed N10 million to effect their release.

The rate at which kidnapping is taking place in the area is affecting the operations of the university owned by the Holy Ghost Fathers of the Catholic Church. As it stands, the university, which is located in a beautiful environment ideal for learning has been having difficulty attracting students and workers, in spite of enormous investments made in the massive campus by the proprietors.

In fact, it was the second time Fr Nwadike was  attacked by the gunmen. In the first attempt, the kidnappers shot directly at him but he managed to escape. However, they succeeded the second time which was perhaps, why they demanded a ransom of N50m. The surprising thing is that a military checkpoint is very close to where Fr. Nwadike and the seminarian were abducted, yet the kidnappers passed the checkpoint freely and headed into the forest.

Recall also that it was in this axis that the Prelate of the Methodist Church,.Kanu-Uche was abducted. Uche was kidnapped with his chaplain, Very Rev. Abidemi Shittu, and the Bishop of Owerri, Rt. Rev. Dennis Mark as they were going to Owerri Airport after holding a programme at Umunneochi. The Prelate and his colleagues were later released after the church raised a whooping N100 million.

Also last week, gunmen kidnapped the Divisional Crime Officer, DCO, Isuochi Police Station in Umunneochi Council Area, DSP Dickson. The DPO was abducted on August 10, while other policemen with him were lucky to escape. It was gathered that although the family of the kidnapped DCO paid ransom demanded by his abductors, he is still being held captive. His colleagues in the Division said DSP Dickson has a health challenge and has a few months to retire from the Nigeria Police. 

It was also  gathered that police authorities have deployed a crack team to comb the area to secure the release of their colleague.

Again, 11 workers of Umunneochi Local Government Area were recently kidnapped by gunmen in the same area. The workers were returning from the traditional marriage ceremony of their colleagues when the gunmen attacked them at Leru , a boundary town between Abia and Imo states along the same Enugu – Port Harcourt expressway. 

 

Officials of the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, in the area say the council workers are still in the custody of the kidnappers. 

According  to an official of NULGE in the area, the kidnappers demanded N50 million ransom which they later reduced to N25 million.

A legal practitioner based in Aba, Mr. Nnamdi Udumka said that the problem of insecurity along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway is affecting people who use that road on a regular basis. He said that he could no longer handle the cases he has in Enugu because of the kidnappers.

“With the situation along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway, businesses have slowed down tremendously, thereby increasing poverty in the land. My clients have been complaining about my inability to appear in court to defend their cases in Enugu, but I am afraid to drive along that road after hearing the gory stories narrated by those who were lucky to come out from the kidnappers’ den in that area,” Udumka said.