Dons Eze
HOW KIDNAPPERS IN POLICE UNIFORMS MAIM, KILL MOTORISTS, PASSENGERS ALONG ENUGU HIGHWAY
Ugwuogo Nike/Opi Nsukka has become a nightmare for motorists, passengers as kidnappers in police uniforms maim, kill road users
Passengers, drivers recount their ordeals, say the road has become more dangerous as the day goes by
Enugu state government awards contract for dual carriage way of the road
For the people of Enugu state, nay south east zone of the country, travelling from Nsukka to Enugu metropolis is like making a journey from Jericho to Damascus. Whether one is making the journey in the morning, afternoon or night, the story still remains the same; the road is hot bed of kidnappers, hoodlums and other criminal elements in the area.
Findings revealed that for over two decades now, many lives have been lost to these criminal activities in the area, with each successive government promising to improve the security of motorists and passengers plying the road.
Passengers, motorists stranded as kidnappers operate freely along the highway
Stretched with about 55km from Opi junction, Nsukka to Abakpa Nike in Enugu metropolis, Ugwuogo Nike/Opi Nsukka road, a single carriage way is arguably one of the most notorious roads in the south East zone.
On October 27, 2022 a former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Dr. Dan Shere was abducted on the road.
He was among several other commuters kidnapped along the Enugu-Ugwuogo Nike-Nsukka Road that fateful Thursday.
Shere, a medical doctor, served under the administration of former Governor, Chimaroke Nnamani.
A source told our reporter that the Enugu politician was travelling to Nsukka for a meeting when the gunmen attacked him alongside other travelers.
One of the survivors, who shared a video of the attack, said the gunmen were about eight in number.
According to the source, “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.
Another source WITHIN NIGERIA that few hours after finding out the status of who they kidnapped, the abductors increased their ransom to N30m.
“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.
The kidnap of the former state scribe and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka students carried a lot of outcry, leading to the beefing up of the security out posts in the area.
Security operatives storm Ugwuogo Nike road during Dec 1, 2024 abduction
In any case, when our reporter travelled to Enugu metropolis through Ugwuogo Nike/Opi Nsukka road, it was gathered that for a journey of just about 55kms, there were more than thirty security check points on the road.
Even with the said huge number of security outposts, it does not deter kidnappers, hoodlums and other criminal elements from operating freely and undisturbed on the road. What are the secrets behind their evil operations?
We gather that what has kept motorists, passengers and other road users terrified is that more often than not, such criminal activities happen a few metres away from the security posts like police check points or Army security post. More confusing is the fact that at each moment of the attack, police usually feel unconcerned and continue with their stop and search work while a life threatening operation is going right under their nose.
Dr. Shere: Abducted by the kidnappers along the highway
As the security of the road worsened, on September 2, 2023, Dr. Godwin Abonyi, the former chairman of Udenu local government area of the state was attacked by these men of underworld on his way to Enugu metropolis.
An Eye witness told our reporter that his car was riddled with bullets, though he sustained minor injuries during the said attack.
Motorists, passengers lament the situation
Speaking with one of the motorists who ply the road frequently, Mr. Gerald Ugwu, a bus driver told our reporter that the road is increasingly becoming dangerous to ply every day.
“I started plying the road in 2017 when I came back from Jos, Plateau state after series of killings by bandits and hoodlums in the area.
“That time, there was no security threat on the road that time. But since, as the year goes by, the road becomes so dangerous to ply. Last year was better than this year and last two years was better than last year.
“As a matter of fact, right now, the most terrifying thing is that these kidnappers, hoodlums and bandits wear police uniforms to confuse the road users that they are security agents.
“Few weeks ago, I was going from Nsukka to Enugu at about 2pm. Unfortunately, my front tyre burst immediately after Maduka University, Ekwegbe. I had to fix it so as to be able to continue the journey with my passengers. Few metres away, we saw some security agents on police uniforms erecting check point. We were relieved because that spot is usually lonely.
Dr. Abonyi: Escaped unhurt
“However, we were surprised when these people we assumed to be security agents stopped a sienna car, filled with passengers and started shooting sporadically in the air. They abducted all the passengers and took them inside the bush. Few hours later, they started demanding for ransom.
“So, my brother, that is the dimension of criminalities along Ugwuogo Nike/ Opi/Nsukka road.”
Another driver told our reporter that “on December 1, 2024, I was coming with some passengers from Enugu metropolis to Nsukka. Immediately after Maduka University, a black Tacoma jeep overtook us. Few minutes later, we heard gunshots at the direction of the Tacoma. We were surprised because we know so well that particular spot is police check point. I had to match the break and alight from the bus with my passengers. Within a twinkle of eyes, we saw these hoodlums in school uniforms drag the occupants of the jeep out and into the bus.”
Narrating further, the driver said that “we were very much terrified and thankful to God because we could have been the victims of the attack if not that the jeep overtook us. We thought they were policemen, not knowing that these are kidnappers.”
Gov. Mbah awards the road for dualization
It was gathered that on October 28, 2024, Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, flagged-off the construction and dualisation of the 43.7km Penoks-Abakpa Nike-Ugwogo-Nike-Opi Nsukka Road with streetlights and 18-month completion timeframe.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony at Opi attended by political heavy weights and leaders of Nsukka Zone, Gov. Mbah stressed that the the project, which includes straightening the of many bends, would drastically reduce accidents and criminality on the road.
“In the build-up to the election and in my acceptance speech after my election, we made a pledge that we are going to dualise the Penoks-Abakpa-Ugwogo-Opi-Nsukka Road because . we realised from the outset that if we had to grow this economy to an exponential height, no section of this state should be left behind, more so an economic hub like Nsukka Zone. So, all we are doing here today is connecting those dots,” he said.
Mbah regretted that a trip from Enugu to Nsukka presently takes over an hour, hence the decision to do the 3.6km from the Penoks Junction all the way to the T-Junction flyover in addition to the 41km Abakpa Nike-Opi Nsukka Road to reduce travel time to about 30 minutes and make it possible for the people to comfortably live and work in Enugu and vice versa.
He also noted that his administration’s grassroot-based development and economic model placed the Enugu North Zone at an advantage.
“We are doing projects based on electoral wards. Guess who are the greatest beneficiaries of this model? It is the Nsukka zone. You have 102 electoral wards. That means you will end up with 102 smart schools, 102 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres, over 1,000km of roads based since we are additionally going to do at least 10km of roads per ward,” he remarked.
However, all the efforts by our reporter to get the reaction of Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO Enugu state police command, Daniel Ndukwe on the ugly development proved abortive as he could not pick his calls.
