The spate of kidnapping in parts of Anambra State has taken a dangerous dimension with the kidnapping of six persons by suspected Fulani herdsmen at the Dubai Estate in Awka, the state capital.
Residents of Awka South, Awka North local government areas and adjoining communities and towns in the state have in the last three weeks been faced with incidents of kidnapping.
Findings revealed that four of the six victims allegedly kidnapped by the herders were later set free after the payment of N75 million ransom.
Residents of Awka and Ifite areas of the capital city said the suspected herdsmen operated along the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) off the Onitsha-Awka-Enugu Expressway leading into the Dubai Estate.
It was learnt that at the Dubai Estate close to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depot linking Dozzy Estate and Four Way junction before the second gate of Ngozika Estate, the armed herdsmen abducted a university professor who allegedly paid the sum of N31 million.
Also, a driver of a Toyota Highlander was reportedly kidnapped along with his ‘fiancee’ and both of them allegedly paid the sum of N45 million as ransom.
Other victims – a boy and two girls – were said to have been kidnapped by the suspected herdsmen within the capital town though it is not clear if they have been released or paid any ransom.
The rampaging gunmen were further said to have attempted to abduct the occupant of a Toyota Camry salon in front of a fuel station along the busy expressway, but were not successful as the young man fled from his car.
The angry kidnappers were said to have fired bullets at the fuel tank of the car, which caused the vehicle to go up in flames.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, when contacted yesterday, said the command was on top of the investigation, but pleaded that it is not proper to begin to expose the undercover operations of the command, which may jeopardise intelligence gathering.
Already, nightlife has gradually fizzled out as residents of Awka capital town now go home early in order not to be victims of suspected kidnappers.
A shuttle driver who didn’t want to disclose his name for security reasons said, “I dropped two persons at that junction (FRSC, Dubai Estate), and as I was about to move they started shouting at me to stop and carry them.
He added that the people told him that a woman was taken away by some people with guns and that another person was on the ground in a pool of blood within the area.
