A Senior Magistrate, Mrs. Dorathy Uchechi Odo, a former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Dr. Dan Shere, a former commissioner Matthew Idu and a lawyer Mr. Foster Ugwuoke were among the unspecified number of persons abducted by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ugwuogo Nike-Nsukka Express Road, Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State on Thursday.
The last Thursday abduction is the latest in the cordinated and sustained attack on travellers along the Enugu-Nsukka New Road in the past one month.
On Sunday, it was reported that an unspecifed number of UNN students returning to the campus after the prolonged ASUU strike were also abduted. Sometime in September, it was also reported that series of kidnapping was carried along that same stretch of road.
The Magistrate presiding over Magistrate Court 2, Nsukka was on her way to court in Nsukka from the state capital when she was abducted. It was reported that she was taking long to resume sitting which prompted her staff to place a call and she simply indicated that she was running late, only for them to later realize that she had been abducted.
Shere, a medical doctor who served under the administration of former Governor, Chimaroke Nnamani was travelling to Nsukka for a meeting when the gunmen attacked him alongside other travellers.
One of the survivors, who shared a video of the attack, said the gunmen were about eight in number.
“They shot severally at our vehicle; one of us was hit by the bullets. But our driver managed to move on. We succeeded in taking the victim to the hospital,” he narrated while thanking God for saving him and four others from the same community.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the kidnappers, who are said to be Fulani herdsmen, have increased their ransom demand on those they earlier picked on Sunday.
“They earlier demanded the sum of N2m on one of the victims but they have now increased it to N30m. They search the phones of the victims to know their status,” the source said.
Returning students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who were abducted on Sunday are also yet to be freed.
An enquiry sent to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Enugu State Police Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe has not been returned as of the time of filing this report.