(Gunmen. Photo by Daily Post)
Gunmen have kidn@pped an employee of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and demanded a N40 million r@nsom, following separate att@cks recorded along the Ebenebe axis of Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The development was disclosed by security analyst Zagazola Makama.
According to the report, Christy Nkiru Okeke, an INEC staff member, was @bducted at about 7:00pm on July 24.
Her husband later reported the incident at the B Division Police Headquarters in Awka after the kidn@ppers reportedly contacted the family demanding N40 million for her release.
Makama further disclosed that roughly an hour earlier, a businessman, Emmanuel Nwobodo, narrowly escaped a similar att@ck near Ebenebe Community Secondary School after four armed men dressed in dark clothing allegedly opened fire on his Mercedes-Benz as he was returning home from Oba.
The report said Nwobodo managed to drive off before realising he had sustained a gunsh0t wound to his left knee, while his vehicle sustained damage to the radiator and rear seat belt guard.
One of his staff members, Tochukwu Afunenu, reportedly fled into a nearby bush during the att@ck while in possession of the businessman’s ATM card and two mobile phones.
Nwobodo later grew suspicious after voice messages allegedly sent from the staff member’s phone claimed he had been kidn@pped and demanded a separate N40 million r@nsom.
Police said extensive combing of the surrounding bushes, alongside intelligence-led tracking operations, is ongoing in efforts to rescue the abducted victim and apprehend those responsible.
Investigators, according to the report, are also working to establish whether the two att@cks, which occurred along the same road within a short time frame, were carried out by the same criminal gang.