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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
A couple and their four-month-old baby, along with two other unidentified youths, have been abducted by gunmen in Umukenekpu, Ndegwu, Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State.
The victims were reportedly abducted on Saturday evening while on their way to inspect a property in the area. A resident who escaped from the kidnappers told reporters that the incident occurred at about 5 p.m., when the victims were ambushed near a residential building.
According to the source, the attackers, numbering about five, were armed with an AK-47 rifle, daggers and machetes. The source said only one of the attackers was carrying an AK-47, while the others wielded daggers and machetes.
“I was lucky to have escaped from these people,” the source said. They look like Fulani people. They ambushed us as we were going to inspect a property close to our residential building.
“As they took us into the bush and were tying us one after another, I took a risk before it got to my turn and ran away. They shot at me but missed the target.”
The latest incident is the first reported abduction in the area since the police and other security agencies began combining ground patrols with drone surveillance in nearby forests.
The development has raised fresh concerns among residents, particularly over the safety of people moving around the communities and inspecting properties in the area. Efforts to reach the Imo State Police Command for confirmation of the incident and details of possible rescue operations were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
