Police speak on abduction of many travellers in Enugu

The police in Enugu State have spoken on the reported abduction of 11 travellers along the Amechi-Idodo Area of the Enugu/Abakaliki Express Road.

How it happened

On Tuesday, gunmen abducted the victims who were mainly university students travelling to Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital from Awka in Anambra State.

The attackers, it was gathered, flagged down their vehicle and abducted them along Amechi -Idodo Axis in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.

A family member of one of the victims, who asked not to be named, said the abductors had asked for N30 million ransom.

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Sources said one of the abducted victims confirmed to the family, on Thursday, that 11 of them were being held by their abductors.

“The family was negotiating with the captors till 11 a.m. (on Friday),” a source familiar with the attack said.

Initial silence

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, the police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Joshua Ukandu, simply said he was aware the place had been a den of kidnappers.

Mr Ukandu, a deputy superintendent of police, however, said he would not comment because the area is under the jurisdiction of the Enugu State Police Command.

The police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, did not respond to several calls and a text message seeking his comments.

‘Three persons, not 11 missing’

In a statement on Friday evening, Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, refuted the abduction of 11 travellers.

The police spokesperson claimed only three travellers were still missing after the attack by the hoodlums.

He described the reported abduction of 11 travellers as “misleading, false and mischievous.”

Mr Ndukwe claimed that upon receipt of information about the attack, police operatives moved to the boundary of Enugu and Ebonyi States on the said day.

The spokesperson said the operatives, on arrival at the scene, rescued 13 occupants of a Nissan commercial bus attacked by suspected kidnappers.

He claimed the three missing travellers had scampered into nearby bushes during the attack.

Mr Ndukwe said the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Kanayo Uzuegbu, has ordered sustained operations to locate and rescue the three missing travellers.

Mr Uzuegbu also directed the operatives to track down the hoodlums.

The commissioner assured of their commitment to sustain collaborative efforts between security agencies within the state and those in neighbouring states to ensure safety on highways.