One person was killed while 10 others were kidnapped in two separate attacks by gunmen in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, Southeast Nigeria.
The incidents, which occurred between Tuesday and Wednesday, have heightened fears among residents and raised concerns about growing insecurity in the area.
The first attack took place on Tuesday on the outskirts of Umulokpa Community.
According to Premium Times, the assailants, suspected to be herders, abducted Vincent Nweke, a chainsaw machine operator, and Linus Ezeh, the President-General of the community.
In a video clip seen by the publication, Mr. Ezeh recounted how the armed men ambushed him near his rice farm, tied him to a tree, and later attacked Mr. Nweke upon hearing the sound of his chainsaw in a nearby area.
“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 said in Igbo.
The video showed the decomposing remains of Mr. Nweke in the bush. Ezeh further revealed that the following day, the kidnappers ordered him to contact his relatives for ransom or face death. The demand reportedly started at N30 million but was negotiated down to N2.5 million, which was delivered at Ukpata Community before he was released.
“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 added.
Later on Wednesday, around 5:47 p.m., a second attack occurred when gunmen ambushed and abducted nine individuals travelling from Eke Akiyi in Umulokpa Community to Iwollo in Ezeagu Local Government Area. It remains unclear if the perpetrators were connected to the earlier incident.
The ambush happened at Adaba Community, near the boundary between Amagu in Umulokpa and Olo in Ezeagu LGA. The victims, consisting of six women, one man, and two teenage boys, were identified as Christiana Chukwuemeka, Sabina Okeke, Okorie Chukwuemeka, Albert Ugochukwu, Eberechukwu Okoye, Nkem Collins, Nwankwo Charity, Eze Augustina, and Chijioke Ezieke.
They were eventually rescued on Thursday when youths from Adaba Community mobilized and confronted the kidnappers inside the forest. The rescue mission was reportedly led by the President-General of the community, Fabian Amalunwaeze.
One of the victims, Mrs. Okeke, recounted the ordeal in a video.
“We went to Umulokpa Market yesterday (Wednesday) and started travelling back 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 said in Igbo.
The attackers, she said, later introduced themselves as kidnappers and demanded a ransom of N30 million from each of the victims or they would be killed.
“I told them we hadn’t seen N30 million before, but they scolded me, saying we have been doing business in different markets. I responded that they had collected all we had made from yesterday’s business from us. And one of them slapped me,” Mrs. Okeke added.
“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.”
She said the victims were about to rest when the Adaba youths stormed the forest and confronted the abductors.
“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 residents confirmed the incidents on Friday. One resident, identified only as Anthony, lamented that such attacks by suspected herders had become frequent in Uzo-Uwani.
However, efforts to obtain comments from the Enugu State Police Command were unsuccessful. The command’s spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, did not respond to calls but replied via WhatsApp, stating that an official press release would be issued to provide “accurate insights” into the incident.
