Follow Us on Google
From Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki
Former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Ebonyi State, Chief Abia Onyike, yesterday narrated his ordeal in the hands of Ebubeagu operatives in the state.
Onyike was abducted Wednesday night when he went out to buy medicine at Water Works road in Abakaliki, the state capital. He was, however, later released the same night.
The commander of Ebubeagu in the state, Friday Nnanna, while reacting to the incident, said Onyike’s arrest was a case of mistaken identity.
He said: “It was a case of a mistaken identity. He was arrested where our men mounted surveillance for criminal elements. He was released immediately after his identity was revealed.”
But speaking on his abduction yesterday morning, Onyike, who is currently the spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state, Chief Chukwuma Odii, said he was abducted inside a pharmacy shop around 8pm.
He said: “I went to buy medicine at the popular Octovia Pharmacy at about 8.25pm. After buying the drugs, I saw two armed Ebubeagu men enter the pharmacy. They came straight to me. One of them dragged me into their vehicle (a red coloured Toyota Sienna). They fired gunshots into the air to scare people and drove me to the old Government House and subjected me to torture. I was beaten with a piece of wood. They threatened to bury me alive while one of them threatened to shoot at my leg. After about one hour of intensive torture, their commander told me to stand up and wear my dresses. He said it was a case of mistaken identity. They returned some of my items seized by them, such as my car key, phone, drugs and ATM card. I was then told to go. Later on, I learnt that the Commissioner of Police ordered that I be released.”
