Over 15 residents of Mgbuji Eha-Amufu Community in the Isi-Uzo local government area of Enugu State have reportedly been abducted by gunmen thought to be Islamic terrorists posing as herdsmen.
On Monday morning, a group of people broke into the neighbourhood and kidnapped the locals.
The kidnapping, according to reports, is believed to have occurred around 7 am on Mgbuji-Agu Road close to the railroad crossing in Mgbuji town. Tricycles were used by some of the villagers to travel to their farms when the terrorists kidnapped them, while other villagers were picked up on their various rice farms.
After the kidnappings, it was claimed that the invading terrorists drove toward the border between Enugu and Benue State.
Chijioke Ogbodo, the spokesman for the Mgbuji Community, who confirmed the kidnappings on Monday, bemoaned the soldiers who had just been sent to Eha-failure Amufu’s to act and their alleged refusal to respond to distress calls.
Adding that their crime was attempting to steal food from their farms, he urged the state government to take action to rescue the victims.
According to reports, on July 5, armed men dressed as police officers and soldiers abducted seven members of the same community and shot three more. They are thought to be Islamic terrorists.
Since September 2021, there have been a number of attacks on the community and surrounding communities in Eha-Amufu. Numerous people have died, and thousands of homes and other pieces of property worth millions of naira have been destroyed. Numerous others have been abducted and held for ransom.
Attempts to contact the Enugu State Police Command for a response, however, were unsuccessful.
When asked for comments and clarifications, the spokesman for the Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, did not answer his mobile phone.
