Bandits Release Four Women Abducted From Enugu Community After N2million Ransom, Bags Of Foodstuffs

They were released after their family members paid N2 million with cartoons of noodles, bags of rice and condiments as ransom, SaharaReporters learnt.

The four women kidnapped by bandits suspected to be Fulani herders in an Enugu State community have been released after spending six days in the bush.

They were released after their family members paid N2 million with cartoons of noodles, bags of rice and condiments as ransom, SaharaReporters learnt.

SaharaReporters reported on January 25, 2024, that bandits suspected to be herders invaded the Ogurugu community in the Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State and kidnapped four women.

SaharaReporters was informed that the attack happened on Tuesday evening.

Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area has been under constant attack by herders and other local militias.

Recently, some gunmen took over the Ogboli axis and Ogurugu community, kidnapping people, a community source told SaharaReporters on Thursday.

However, a relation of one the victims, who confided to SaharaReporters about their release on Monday, lamented the incessant kidnapping of residents of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.

The family source who gave his name Nick Ogbebe told SaharaReporters that his sister said that their abductors were herders with cows and they were all wielding AK-47 rifles.

“My cousin’s sister was among the women that were kidnapped. You know it is a job they pay them monthly. They were on the farm and these men came according to my sister and were taken to the bush.

“We thank the Almighty God that they had all been released after a ransom of N2 million with cartoons of indomie, rice, and necessary condiments were given to them.
“They were released on Saturday midnight after spending six days with them in the bush.”

According to him, the hoodlums asked that only one person should come in the midnight and drop those items at a certain location on the farm. “So, one person from the community went and dropped those items and the money, and within two, three hours they were released.

“My sister told me they let them go around 9 pm and those that kidnapped them were five in number and were wielding AK-47 rifles. And that they are all men with cows and they told them that they are Fulanis.”

When asked what offence their abductors said they committed, the source said “She said that the herders told them that they were looking for the manager of the farm plantation where they were working. She said that when the community tried to intervene they (kidnappers) told the community that they wanted the money for their ransom must come from the owner of the farm.

“They bluntly told them that the owner of the farm was their target but when they could not get the manager they now kidnapped them. My cousin said that they were kidnapped by 11 am but trekked in the bush till midnight. They were kidnapped on the farm plantation in a community in Ogurugu and released close to Opanda farm.”

Saharareporters reported on January 20, how wedding guests who were kidnapped in Nkpunato Nkpologu, Uzo-Uwani Council Area of Enugu State berated the Enugu state police command for shamefully coming out to deny that they were not kidnapped by gunmen.

One of the victims who identified himself as Ikenna Diugwu, had told Saharareporters that his family paid N2 million ransom to his captors to secure their release.

Narrating the unfortunate incident, Diugwu explained that they were on a bus going to a traditional wedding ceremony at Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State on December 27, 2023, when their vehicle was attacked and they were abducted, regrettably, police denied that they were not kidnapped despite spending four days with the abductors.

source: Sahara reporters