By Adadainfo
Despite reported cases of kidnapping and robbery along Opi-Enugu road by Ugwuogo in Enugu-East Local government area of Enugu State, police operatives were absent at their usual checkpoints along the road.
Unknown men Sunday morning allegedly blocked the road and took a number of travellers hostage. Police are you to confirm the incident.
Our correspondent, who passed through the road Wednesday morning, drove unhindered, except a military checkpoint and one police occupied van at a no-security threatened place. There were also scanty vehicles on the road in the earlier part of the morning.
A driver told our reporter that, “I would have gotten to Enugu earlier, but I was advised to wait until other vehicles started passing. I parked for one hour, thirty minutes.”
A post by one Christian Ugwuanyi that went viral on the recent blockade of Opi-Enugu road read, “At the Nike-opi road from Enugu, while going to Opi just after the last filling station on top of the hill, the Fulani blocked the road; for many hours people could not pass through that road.
“All the police escorts coming could not face them, rather they went back to take another direction. The Fulani men came out in full force and kidnapped some people.
“The village people were seen standing along the road with cutlasses; hearing the sound of gun, they could not withstand them because the Fulani men came out with AK-47.
“Two private cars were seen inside the bush. Another jeep parked alongside the road, even with one somebody inside shouting for help.
“The other people were shouting; they have [been] taken them away inside the bush. Nobody could help them as I see men cry today.
“It was a black Sunday. No police check point on the road. At the Army check point, no Army officers standing.
It was a sad story to tell, we saw something we have never witnessed before today.
“Ask God to fight the battles for us in Igbo land: Forwarded as received to sensitize us to be more security conscious and increase our prayer fire as a lot of us ply this same road almost on a daily basis, Christian Ugwuanyi, Enugu.”
