From Christopher Oji
There was pandemonium on Tuesday evening in Asaba, Delta State, as gunmen abducted the former House of Representatives member and immediate past Commissioner for Technical Education in Delta State, Hon Joan Onyemaechi. She was also the former Director-General of the Delta State Capital Development Agency.
The gunmen stormed the King Jesus and I Church, along the popular DSB Road in Asaba, where Onyemaechi was worshipping, and shot dead a policeman and her driver in the attack. Two others, including a policeman, were also injured before the victim was taken away.
The abduction saw the gunmen shooting into the air in the church premises, causing pandemonium as they whisked the victim away.
A witness, Abua, said, “We took cover, while others fled the scene. Worshippers in the church also took flight, and there was panic everywhere. It was a coordinated operation as they quickly moved the woman into their SUV, which they later set ablaze at the riverside; they put her in a boat and took her to an unknown destination. The gunmen set the vehicle they came with on fire so there would not be traces of the mastermind of the abduction.”
The kidnapping has caused fear, as many are confused about the motive of the gunmen. While some argued that it was politically motivated, others were of the opinion that ‘unknown gunmen’ from the East had entered Delta State.
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The people of Ubulu-Uku, where the woman hails from, have been in a mourning mood since the incident, as her abductors have not contacted the family to ascertain whether it was kidnapping for ransom, politically motivated, or something else.
The Ubulu-Uku people at home and in the diaspora have been holding prayer sessions for the release of one of their illustrious daughters and have appealed for the release of Onyemaechi.
A community leader, Mark Okolie, described the impunity with which the gunmen stormed the capital city, abducted a highly placed personality like Mrs Onyemaechi, and went away with her unchallenged by security agencies as shameful.
Okolie appealed to the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, to rejig the security architecture of the state to ward off gunmen from taking over the state.
He called on the CP to do everything within his power to rescue Onyemaechi, popularly known as Ada Anioma.
Delta State Police Public Relations Officer SP Bright Edafe, who confirmed the story, said that two persons, including a policeman, were killed in the incident.
He said only Onyemaechi was taken away by the gunmen, adding that the police have begun an investigation into the incident.