Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the premier Igbo social and cultural organization, has spoken out against the rising number of kidnappings in Enugu State.
Twenty people were reportedly kidnapped across the state during the course of the weekend, as reported by SAGEFE
A Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Marcellinus Obioma Okide, was kidnapped in the Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, and a middle-aged man was killed in another kidnapping incident in the Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state. All of these kidnappings occurred on Friday.
According to a statement released to the media on Tuesday, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide National President Mazi Okwu Nnabuike condemned the “outrageous” kidnapping rate in Enugu.
According to Okwu, criminals have taken control of every major road outside of the State capital, but the police and other authorities are only talking and not doing anything.
In light of recent events in Enugu State, where citizens are unable to freely travel outside of the state capital, he deemed it necessary to issue a stern warning to the populace.
We have yet to see concrete outcomes despite the efforts of the current State government, which have included providing logistics to security agencies.
There are always kidnappings reported in Enugu State. It’s either the ancient Udi-Oji River Road or the Expressway if it’s not on the Enugu-Ugwuogo-Opi Nsukka Road. This is awful and can’t be tolerated at all.
“We are saying enough is enough; it is terrible that criminals continue operate unhindered and take hostages every day despite the number of checkpoints along these highways.
There needs to be a complete reform of the security infrastructure in Enugu State, and security services should deliver answers; we’re sick of empty rhetoric.
Something needs to be done immediately because “either the operatives are complicit or they are sleeping on duty.”
To supplement the efforts of traditional security agencies, Okwu recommended that the State government increase the number of neighborhood watch organizations in the State.
