Herdsmen Terrorize Enugu Community, Kidnap Catholic Church Minister, Italy-based Preacher, Others

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According to a report by SaharaReporters, the residents of Ikem town, the headquarters of the Isi-Uzo local government area of Enugu State are under the grips of suspected Fulani herdsmen who have turned the area into a kidnapping heaven with security agencies allegedly taking no action.

In less than one week, four indigenes of Ikem Community have been abducted with different sums of ransom paid for their freedom.

Sources from the community told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that the victims included a Catechist of St. James Catholic Church, Ishioroto-Ikem, Mr Lawrence Ndu.

Others according to the sources are an Italy-based evangelist, Mr. Emeka Odo and his brother Ikechukwu Odo; and the most recent victim, Ejike Agbodo, a bus driver who was kidnapped while on commercial duty along Ikem-Nkwo road.

The Italy-based Evangelist, Emeka Odo who narrated his kidnap incident to SaharaReporters, on Wednesday, said that his abductors were over 10 and were all Fulani, who were wielding AK-47 rifles all through.

According to Odo, he was abducted with his brother along Ikem- Obollo Afor road on June 12, 2022.

Odo, who quickly went back to his base shortly after he regained freedom, narrated that they were flagged down in their car, commandeered into the bush and were taken through bush tracks by the abductors to Eha-Amufu and to the Benue State border.

He said, "Our kidnappers are Fulani and they told us that somebody was guiding them on the route. One of my brothers they kidnapped with me who is hearing Hausa and Fulani language told us that the abductors were from Niger Republic.

"We paid ransom to them before we were released. They are more than 10 in number. They told us that they were distributed across the South-East and are being guided by their people in the military and police in the region."

Odo lamented that no security or government officials at the local government level cared to ask them what happened.

"How did it happen? Where and where were we abducted and released? South-East residents are really in trouble. Most of the terrorists were brought from Niger and Chad to come and overrun this place."

The bus driver who was kidnapped on Tuesday has not been seen as at the time of this report.

Efforts to get reaction of the Enugu Command of Nigeria Police Force were unsuccessful as its spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, could not be reached on telephone.