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…Widow narrates deceased husband’s ordeals
From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Residents of Ogbele Ohulor, Obollo Afor, Ezimo, Imilike and surrounding villages, all in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, constantly live in palpable fear, following the recent wave of kidnapping within the locality.
The development has turned residents’ lives into a living hell. These days, what you see are traumatised and haunted families, where homes once brimmed with peace and laughter.
At the centre of the unfolding tragedy is the heartbreaking story of Mrs Agnes (not real name) Okwudili, a young widow whose husband, a bus driver, was abducted, tortured and released after ransom was paid, only to die days later.
Residents of Ogbele Ohulor, Obollo Afor, Ezimo, Imilike and surrounding villages, all in Udenu, said they live in fear as armed kidnappers suspected to be herdsmen run riot, kidnapping, maiming and killing without let or hindrance. According to residents, the suspected criminals even have camps in forests within the communities, where they torture their victims until ransoms are paid.
In her quiet compound in the Ezimo community, the widow tried to speak without breaking down, but every sentence drifted into tears. She recounted how she and her husband had gone to Divine Solution Ministries, a small prayer ministry beside the Army checkpoint in Ibada, Ohulor community, Obollo-Afor.
She said their children had gone ahead of them and because they arrived late (around 4pm), when the service had ended, they stayed behind to pray. “No sooner had we started praying than the kidnappers invaded the church, seized us and marched us through the thick bush path towards Obollo Eke. There were some other kidnapped victims with them. They were beating all of us as we went deep into the thick bush,” she said.
Her pleas were desperate, not just out of fear, but of reality. “I begged them that I was nursing a baby and that if they took my husband and I, there would be nobody to rally round for the ransom. At that point, they told me to go back.”
She said she wandered in the darkness, through the thick bush, guided only by prayers and instinct. “It was around 9pm at night. I wandered through the forest for hours. Luckily, I burst out on the expressway, that is the Obollo-Afor–Obollo-Eke Road. I saw a man riding a motorcycle from afar and I started screaming. The man stopped and helped me. He brought me home. I was taken to the hospital where I was treated.”
But the nightmare was only beginning for Mrs Agnes, as the kidnappers later called her family and demanded a huge ransom for her husband’s release.
According to her, they initially demanded N20 million for the victims kidnapped within that week, but eventually reduced it to N2 million. According to her, it took the combined efforts of friends and relations who pulled resources together to raise the ransom.
Although the ransom was paid in record time, the man did not return safe and sound; he returned home beaten, battered and broken.
“When the ransom was paid and he got home, we discovered that the kidnappers had pierced his foot with their knife. He got out on Thursday and was taken to the hospital the same day as he was vomiting. The vomit was yellowish in colour, meaning that his entire system could have been affected, possibly by the poison in the knife they used on him. We spent so much at the hospital but he died about a week later,” she narrated.
Looking at the ground and slowly shaking her head in agony, she continued: “I never knew that I would ever face this kind of situation. My husband was a loving and hardworking man. It is sad that some people will just decide to cut someone’s life short. Some of these things make someone doubt the existence of God but there is God and I still believe in Him.
“Since the incident happened, there has not been any contact from the government or even the police. It is now over two weeks since my husband died. I am bearing the burden alone. I never believed I would be in this condition. It would have been easier to endure if he had died a natural death.”
Her tragedy is only one out of many. Between October 14 and 17, gunmen kidnapped over 10 residents across communities in Udenu, killing some and leaving others battered. They shot a Catholic priest, Rev Fr Emmanuel, whose car was riddled with bullets as mourners were abducted in Ezimo.
A young man, Abuchi Asogwa, was stabbed to death when he tried to escape. Another victim, Mr Oformadu Eze, was killed at Ogbele Ohulor. Five more persons were taken along Ezimo Road in Imilike. Families paid ransom. Some victims returned sick, limping or unconscious, while others never returned.
One survivor said he believes the attackers came for the Reverend Father first. “They actually came for the Reverend Father but he escaped. They now rounded us up. First of all, they took us to their camp at Ogbele behind Ugwu Egbe.
“There, we saw some of their cattle. From there, they moved us to another place at Imilike Etiti, before we got to their third camp in Eha Ndiagu. They fed us with biscuits and water for the three days that I spent with them. They released me after a ransom of N2 million was paid by my family members.”
He added that locals were part of the gang, a claim that had unsettled the communities even more. “At night, we could hear the voices of our people. Some of them spoke Hausa with the Fulani people, while they spoke our local dialect among themselves. They are the ones bringing the biscuits with which we were fed. Our people are fully involved in this.”
The allegation of community collaboration is supported by another victim, who said: “The kidnappers who were eight in number were all Fulani herdsmen. They did not cover their faces, but at night, we heard the voices of our people who came to the camps to bring biscuits and soft drinks for them. We were sure that the people we heard their voices were our villagers.”
Motorists now abandon the Nsukka–Obollo–Ikem–Eha-Amufu Federal Highway once the sun begins to set. A resident, Onyejere Attama, who trades in Afor Market, said life had changed for everyone.
“Since this wave of kidnappings started, I don’t go home late anymore. I leave the market around 2:30 or 3pm. At times, you won’t even find Okada that will be willing to go towards our side. We are all afraid. The place where they kidnapped many people is close to my village. We have never seen anything like this before. The worst part is that it happened in broad daylight.”
A boutique owner, Ejike Odo, expressed frustration that even the commercial town of Obollo Afor is no longer safe. “I am from Ezimo. I don’t go home anyhow now. The kidnapping has become a daily routine. The worst part is that even Obollo Afor here is not safe. We have heard of incidents very close by. It is a sign that nobody is safe.”
Another resident, Idoko Chiemerie, said what pains him most is the silence of the concerned authorities. “How can these things happen and there are no arrests? I don’t even know what the vigilantes are doing. Or is it the Forests Guards? The local government chairman seems confused. He is not saying anything. Your people are being kidnapped and you just sit back and do nothing. That is the height of insensitivity,” he roared.
The situation has become so dire that residents now openly accuse the police of indifference. One traumatised father, whose child was kidnapped said: “In other states, even in Kogi State, the General Officer Commanding the 2 Division of Nigerian Army, Major General Chinedu Nnebeife, recently led soldiers into the bush and rescued victims.
“In other states, the commissioners of police, area commanders and DPOs lead police squads into the bush in search of kidnapped victims. But, this is not happening in Udenu. Since the latest incidents happened here, the Police only came once to remove the Reverend Father’s car, which was riddled with bullets. They didn’t enter the bush.”
A security officer in the area, who preferred to remain anonymous, admitted that security agents know what is happening. “The problem is deep. Our finding is that there are local collaborators. These are Fulani herders but there are locals among them. They are the ones who lead them and later share the proceeds.
“I think the reason we have not been able to go after these people is because they are highly connected. You can’t go on such a mission on your own. We are ready to confront them but we must receive the needed signal first,” he said.
The Udenu axis of the Nsukka–Obollo–Ikem–Eha-Amufu Federal Highway is deserted at sunset. Families move out before dusk. Traders abandon markets early. The entire community walks on eggshells. And in all of this, the Enugu State Police Command has issued no statement. Calls and messages placed to the Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, were ignored.
Udenu is not just any local government. It is the home of former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. Ezimo is the hometown of the current Deputy Governor, Ifeanyi Ossai, and Deputy Inspector General of Police, Frank Mbah, yet the communities remain under siege.
For Mrs Agnes, none of these names matter anymore. What matters is the grave she never expected to dig, the children she must now raise alone and the silence of a system that has abandoned her. “I never believed I would be in this condition. My husband did not fall sick. He did not die in an accident. They brutally killed him, and nobody is asking questions,” she lamented as she broke down in tears.
