Unknown Gunmen Kidnap Anambra Community Leader, Brutalise Wife, Son
Reports say unknown gunmen onTueday morning, stormed the Eziowelle home of Elder Anthony Ojemba Chigbo in Idemili North Local government area of Anambra State and abducted him to yet to be ascertained destination.
The report said the 67 year old man was severely beaten by the trigger-happy men numbering 15, who were shooting sporadically in diverse directions before being matched to a waiting hilux van with which they came.
According to the report, while searching for Elder Chigbo, the armed men suspected to have been hired, also descended on his 54 year old wife and their 27 year old son and gave them the beating of their lives.
It was learnt that the gunmen shot the man on his leg prompting him to come out of his hiding.
Narrating their ordeal in the hands of the blood thirsty armed men, the wife of the victim who was seriously wounded on the face and hands, said the attackers, were armed with AK 47 and pump action rifles, adding that they climbed the perimeter fence to gain entrance into their compound.
She further informed that the armed did not just come to pick his husband, but that they shattered the entire louvres on the windows and broke the doors before descending on them, while demanding for her husband.
According to her, “They subjected my son, Ifedinachi, to untold battering after which they shot him on the leg when he could not tell them the where about of his father. I had to throw myself on top of my son in a bid to protect him when they threatened to kill him. At this stage, they pounced on me and continued beating me with sticks and guns while I was pleading that they should not kill my son. When the beating continued without ceasing, my husband who was hidden in his bedroom came out and pleaded with them to kill him instead of killing his wife and son. They then kicked him and he fell down.
They tied him with chains and started beating him after which they matched him into their Hilux Pickup parked at the gate and drove to an unknown destination.
Giving an insight to the genesis of the brutality, she said while wrighting in pains, “On Tuesday morning by 5:30 am, two of our dogs started barking. I stood up to use the restroom and when I was done, I looked through the window. I saw some group of people entering the compound from the fence. I woke my husband up to inform him that we have guests. They were about twenty people.
I thought they were armed robbers. When my husband woke up, I told him to go and hide and he went to hide in my children’s room. They started knocking at the door of the parlor, shouting ‘everybody in this house should come out.’ But we all kept quiet and we started hearing gunshots. “They went to the kitchen window, started shooting at the door of the kitchen and they succeeded in entering from the garage to the parlor.
When they came in, they saw a phone with my son and and they shot him on the leg and seized it. My son started crying “why would you shoot me. What did I do?” They continued beating him. I had to lay down on top of him begging that they should kill me first before they kill my son. At this stage, my husband came out from his hiding place and asked the gun men who they wanted, they said they were looking for Ojemba and my husband said, ‘I am Ojemba, please leave my family.
They now descended on him, chained his two hands and dragged him to the ground while beating him mercilessly. After that, they forced him out of the compound and drove away with a white Hilux they came with to an unknown place with all our telephones and many other valuables. Since then, we have been going round all police stations to report and search for him without success.
We are suspecting that the armed men must have been hired by some traditional leaders in our community, Oddida Umuoniya village, Eziowelle, Idemili North LGA in Anambra, who have been fighting my husband over our land. Few weeks back, they stormed our house with gun-wielding policemen from Zone 13, Ukpor, harassed and arrested him only to release him later.
The same gang that attacked us also invaded the home of our youth leader same night but he narrowly escaped death. I am appealing to the Governor of Anambra State and the Inspector-General of Police and all security agencies to urgently intervene and help locate my husband, dead or alive.
He has not committed any crime and his abductors subjected all of us to serious torturing and beating before disappearing with him. We don’t know the state of his health or where they have taken him to, as we speak.”
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