Gunmen abduct health worker, wife in Kogi community

From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja

Iluke, a major settlement in the Bunu District of Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, was thrown into panic yesterday as bandits invaded the community, abducting an unspecified number of persons.

The gunmen were said to have invaded the Oke Bukun area of the community in the dead of night at about 1 a.m. on Thursday, May 21. They whisked away a community health worker, popularly called ‘Dr Ebi’ (Omo Kemuna), and his wife.

They allegedly carried the abductees away on motorcycles. Once the victim, who owned a clinic in Oferre, was in their custody, the hoodlums allegedly fired sporadically as they escaped from the town.

Iluke has been gripped by fresh fear because of the attack. In the same vein, people in nearby communities in Mopamuro and Ijumu local government areas woke up to the news, triggering panic among them.

Bunu District has suffered several security breaches in recent times.

On Monday, May 4, bandits reportedly attacked the Iluke-Oferre road, shooting randomly and scaring many people away. Jacob, an unsuspecting commercial driver, could not manoeuvre to safety when he suddenly ran into them. He was forced to a halt at gunpoint and led into the bush, where he was kidnapped.

His tormentors eventually made contact with his family, demanding a ransom of N50 million for his release. A source familiar with the case said the gunmen have so far stuck to their demand.

Before then, gunmen abducted two wives, two children and an aide of ‘Prof. Wonder’, the paramount ruler of Odai, a small agrarian community close to Iluke, on Wednesday, April 16. The gunmen demanded N150 million for their freedom.

When the ransom was delayed, the gunmen were said to have killed two of the monarch’s children over time and showed images of the gruesome acts on social media.

More than a month after the attack, the hapless monarch was said to have taken ill and been hospitalised, while his family remained in the bush with their captors.

A source familiar with the case disclosed that the bandits recently demanded that the monarch must bring the ransom in person or risk losing the other family members.

Attempts to obtain the police response to the attacks were unsuccessful. The Kogi State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Saliu Afusat Oyiza, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), promised to respond after conducting enquiries but had yet to do so as of press time.