Wedding guests who were kidnapped in Nkpunato Nkpologu, Uzo-Uwani Council Area of Enugu State, have expressed their frustration with the Enugu State Police Command, refuting the authorities’ assertion that they were not abducted by gunmen.
Ikenna Diugwu, one of the victims, said on Saturday that his family had to pay a hefty N2 million ransom to secure their release from the kidnappers.
Recounting the harrowing incident, Diugwu detailed that on December 27, 2023, they were traveling on a bus to attend a traditional wedding ceremony in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State when their vehicle fell prey to an attack, resulting in their abduction.
He lamented that the victims spent three agonizing days in the bush before finally being released by the kidnappers. Diugwu expressed disappointment with the police, stating that there was no effort made to rescue them. Instead, he claimed, “the Commissioner shamefully came out to deny their abduction,” creating a misleading impression that Enugu State is the safest place in Nigeria when, in reality, it was under the siege of kidnapping.
Describing their ordeal at the hands of the kidnappers, Diugwu mentioned that their hands were bound behind their backs, and they endured three days of starvation. He added that they were forcibly moved from one location to another within the dense vegetation of the bush. The victims’ testimonies bring into question the security situation in Enugu State and the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts in addressing such incidents.
“We were in a bus which was conveying us to a traditional wedding ceremony at Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State on December 27, 2023, when we were abducted at Nkpunato Nkpologu, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
“Seven of us were kidnapped and taken into the bush while others escaped. In the bush, they tied our hands to the back and hit us with matchets. We didn’t eat for three days. They were taking us from one location to the other in the bush.
“From the intonation of the kidnappers, they were Fulani herdsmen carrying AK-49 assault rifles. We paid N2 million ransom before they released us,” he said.
The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Kanayo Uzuegbu had in a statement issued on Tuesday, January 16, through the command’s spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, denied that some wedding guests were abducted in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state.
He, however, described some media reports as “reckless, misleading, inaccurate, fictitious, and sensational.”
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