By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

NNEWI—— Gunmen said to be numbering about five on Tuesday allegedly abducted the President of the Abatete community in Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, High Chief Ezebinobi Ezeigbo.

The yet-to-be-identified gunmen were said to have kidnapped their victim a few hours after the Anambra State Governor Prof Charles C. Soludo, sworn in one of his kinsmen from Abatete, Dr Law Mefor, as the Anambra State Commissioner for Information.

Vanguard gathered from a member of the community, who pleaded anonymity, that unknown to Ezeigbo, he was trailed to his house by his abductors who were said to have monitored him from Awka, where he allegedly attended the swearing-in of his kinsman.

According to a Vanguard source, “The kidnappers trailed him with their vehicle when he was returning to his house at about 6:30 pm on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, after the swearing-in of the state’s new Commissioner for Information.”

“On getting to his house, the abductors jumped out of their vehicle, surrounded him, and ordered him to alight from his vehicle, at gunpoint, and enter into their own while one of them went into their victim’s vehicle

“While the abductors wanted to drive him off together with his vehicle and their own Ezeigbo’s vehicle was said to have veered off and crashed into a nearby gutter and the kidnappers hurriedly abandoned the victim’s vehicle and zoomed off.”

“The plan of the kidnappers to also go with his car was to discourage any attempt to pursue them by members of the community, but when they saw that it would be difficult to bring out the vehicle from the gutter they abandoned it and sped off in their vehicle with the I victim.

“As I am talking with you as a member of the community the victim’s family have not been contacted by his abductors neither has the victim spoken with anyone including his family since his kidnap, in fact, his whereabouts still remain unknown”

Contacted the Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, for the Anambra State Police Command, Ikenga Tochukwu, a Superintendent of Police, said he has no information about the alleged kidnap.

The PPRO’s reaction when contacted indicated that he was not interested in reacting as he was questioning why the journalist has to always call for reaction on such crimes.