Wife, child of Enugu commissioner’s younger brother abducted by gunmen

Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped the wife and a child of Mr Eugene Edeoga, younger brother of the Enugu State Commissioner for Environment, Hon Chijioke Edeoga on Saturday night.

They were said to have been kidnapped inside their house at the old Eke Market in Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of the state.

This is coming barely a week five persons were abducted at a notorious pipeline near Federal College of Education along Eha-Amufu – Agu-Amede – Ikem – Ubolo-Afor Road.

Most of the abductions were attributed by some stakeholders to the deplorable state of the section of the road that was said to be less than six kilometres.

Ndukwe, who said he received the report of their abduction around 8pm, lamented that “Eha-Amufu is currently in turmoil since the information of the abduction filtered into the air on Saturday evening. The disturbing part of this abduction is that they were abducted inside their house.

“This was the second scenario where kidnappers would be entering their victims’ house to abduct them. The first was the kidnap of the eight-year-old daughter of the chairman of Agu-Amede community, Mr Sunday, a.k.a Sharia, in November last year.

“Unfortunately, since this festive period, no fewer than 10 persons had been abducted before this incident. They (kidnappers) started with the kidnap of a Catholic priest in Ebo Community. A few days later, three people in tricycle were abducted and last week five others were abducted along Eha-Amufu -Ikem Road.”

Another community leader, Sunday Sharia, also told our correspondent that immediately after The PUNCH reported the kidnap incident of last week, a team of policemen from the State Police Command stormed Eha-Amufu and arrested scores of youths, accusing them of being behind the kidnapping incidences.

“However, most of them were still in detention at the police headquarters when this recent kidnapping occurred. So, who is now behind the kidnapping?” he queried.

He added, “Most of our people that were kidnapped and released after ransom was paid had told people that those that kidnapped them were Fulani herdsmen. I wondered why police instead of looking for the abductors resorted to arresting our youths for the crime.”

Meanwhile, our correspondent gathered that people were no longer moving freely in Eha-Amufu as a result of the recent development.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, when contacted, did not answer the calls put through to his phone.

Also, as of the time of filing this report, he had yet to respond to a text message sent to him.