Kidnappers storm Aba
From OKEY SAMPSON, Aba

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Last week was particularly turbulent for residents of the Ogbor Hill axis of Aba, Abia State capital as gunmen wreaked havoc in the area, kidnapping over five persons in the process. First on the call sheet was a popular TV preacher, Evangelist Jacob Achilefu of the Church of Christ who was kidnapped along the Aba- Ikot Ekepene Highway.




http://odili.net/news/source/2010/mar/23/520.html

According to a reliable source, Evangelist Achilefu was kidnapped as he was returning from the national institute of technology (NITS), an arm of the Church of Christ located on Onicha Ngwa.

The evangelist who was travelling in company of his driver and secretary, was held hostage inside a forest for some weeks before he was released after he reportedly paid N2m ransom.

Few days after the clergyman’s abduction, hell was let loose as gang of six gunmen stormed the Grail Center on Opobo Road also in Ogbor hill. Daily Sun reliably gathered that to ensure that the coast was clear before they began the operation, the hoodlums shot sporadically into the air and the mobile policemen at a checkpoint some 400meters away and took to their heels.

It was further gathered that when solders on patrol duty got to the scene of the kidnapping the gunmen engaged them in a fierce shoot out. Daily Sun learnt that the soldiers withdrew after about 20 minutes. The gunmen were said to have later kidnapped the septuagenarian wife of a foremost fast food eatery owner who had gone to the Grail center for a programme. She was abducted along side two others.

Also during the week, three other persons including a lawyer and a sales representative of a leading brewery in the country were kidnapped. They were however released after paying various sums of money as ransom.

Residents who spoke to Daily Sun on the development decried the renewed violent crime in the area, particularly kidnapping.

They lamented that despite the heavy presence of military/police personnel, kidnappers have continued to operate in the area with little or no resistance from security agencies. The residents called on the nation’s security to de-emphasize of the road- block approach to that of intelligence-gathering.

Kidnappers again?

After publicly declaring they made Millions abi na billions from kidnapping last year, things werent exactly going to cool off was it?