How abductors lay siege to Rivers communities

The Port Harcourt/Elele/ Owerri Road, as well as Ubima/Omeleru Road all in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State have become death trap and a nightmare to travelers.

Also, plying the Rumuji/Ahoada Road raises fear and apprehension among motorists and pedestrians alike.

On a daily basis, passengers and motorists are abducted and taken hostage along these roads bordered by thick forests. Despite the presence of combined team of men of the Nigeria Police Force and Nigerian Army, as well as many road blocks mounted on the road, kidnappers are still having a field day.

The Port Harcourt/Elele/ Owerri Road is the gateway to Imo, Anambra and Delta states, while Rumuji/Ahoada Road is the gateway to Bayelsa, Edo and Delta states. Motorists who travel to Abuja and Lagos from Port Harcourt also ply these routes to get to their destinations.

Passengers and motorists now avoid these roads like the plague. Those who cannot avoid it ply the routes with great fear.

In August last year, the Rivers State Police Command said it rescued eight persons from the 18-seater bus hijacked in the night by gunmen along Elele-Omerelu Road.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the story to journalists in Port Harcourt, said six of the passengers were held captive for days before they were rescued.

The commercial bus was reportedly travelling from Owerri to Port Harcourt when the bandits ambushed the vehicle and diverted it to an unknown destination.

Shortly after that, another 18-seater bus returning to Port Harcourt from Abuja was hijacked along the same road. All the passengers were taken hostage for days until they were rescued by the IGP monitoring team.

The wife of a Port-Harcourt based clergy, Rejoice Nwosu, and her colleague were kidnapped around Isiokpo-Elele axis of the Port Harcourt/Owerri Road recently but later regained their freedom through the effort of the IGP monitoring team.

Our correspondent gathered that a couple and their two children were also abducted along the same route recently. The husband and wife were taking two of their children back to school when they were ambushed and diverted into a nearby forest.

Residents have expressed worry over the activities of kidnappers because they say it is not restricted to travelers alone. Apart from travelers, some other people abducted are used for ritual purposes, they allege.

“Travelers are abducted and taken hostage in thick forests and huge sums of money are paid by the victims’ relations as ransom. In most cases, the kidnappers still kill their victims after collecting huge sums of money from their relations,” said Owhonda, a resident of Elele community.

In the course of kidnapping, victims are most times also manhandled and tortured.

In one of the recent incidents, a victim who pleaded anonymity said all the female passengers in the vehicle were raped by the bandits.

Residents of the state are baffled at the quick progression in which the incidents occur despite the presence of both the police and soldiers along the road.

According to sources, there are more than 13 Police and Army Road blocks on that stretch of road.

Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Usman Balel, on assumption of office had said that the Command under his watch would not tolerate any act of criminality.