Commuters along Enugu-Ugwuogo-Nike-Nsukka road are currently gripped with palpable fear and anxiety as daredevil kidnappers have reportedly returned to the high way, unleashing terror and mayhem on them.
It could be recalled that last year, kidnappers took over the road and abducted travellers on a daily basis.
The last stroke that seemed to have broken the back of Carmel and attracted the state government attention was the abduction of the former Secretary to the state government, Dr Dan Shere, as well as some students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN.
Consequent upon this, security was then heightened along the road, with all the surrounding bushes cleared for visibility.
In any case, it has now been severally reported that the kidnappers are back, taking travelers hostage daily.
One of the social media influencers in the state, Senator Chijinkem Ugwuani reported on his Facebook account thus;
“They have started again @ Opi Nsukka -#Ugwuogo road yesterday and the day before yesterday….
“Two days ago they kidnapped people immediately after that #ApiOpi #Shrine along that express, almost close to that Army checkpoint in front of Samuel Maduka University and the kidnappers were even shooting and the Soldiers didn’t even care about what was happening near them….
“One of our married sisters survived it 2 days ago by grace… Immediately they kidnapped her, took her inside the bush, she fainted. They allowed her to regain herself and went out to that express to kidnap more people. That was how she escaped. Her car was recovered yesterday morning.
“Yesterday again they repeated it…
“This always happens between 5-6-7 pm in the evening….
“Yesterday own, you can even see passengers stranded and police vehicles parked. They were also watching what was happening at the front too….
“Who knows if they will come out today to kidnap as usual….
“Authorities should take note because those bad eggs, both local and foreign bad eggs are back in the kidnapping business….”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Enugu State Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe did not answer calls put across to him. He also did not respond to a text message sent to him.
In the meantime, the fate of those abducted is still unknown as of the time of filing this report.