Businessday :: News you can trust

The notorious spate of kidnap especially in southeast Nigeria is now a source of fear to Nigerians of eastern origin who may now be brooding over the dangers of traveling to their homes during this forthcoming Christmas season

This is December, the month and season of Christmas. It is the time many easterners living outside their hometowns travel to the village to celebrate the Yuletide period. For many easterners, especially the Igbo, it is a period town unions hold meetings to deliberate on how to develop their communities. It is also a period when many individuals hold family meetings. In addition Christmas provides an opportunity for many people to reconnect with family and friends. For the average easterner therefore, Christmas is more than a religious celebration though the religious significance is not lost on them. The southeast zone is predominantly Christian in religious orientation. The social dimension of Christmas makes it a very exciting period in the southeast. However, this year is likely to be different. The several cases of kidnapping in that part of the country have made it imperative for many easterners especially the rich ones to have a rethink about traveling home for Christmas. There have been many high profile cases of kidnapping in the region. There have also been cases of kidnapping in which not very rich individuals have fallen victims. In recent times, apart from politicians and their relatives, home video stars have become kidnap victims. The first to fall victim is Pete Edochie. Edochie made his mark as a broadcaster with Radio Nigeria, Enugu. While still in broadcasting, he acted the lead role of Okonkwo in the film adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s classic novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1986. After retirement in the early 1990s, he took to home video and is today seen as the doyen of the Nigerian home video industry. Edochie was, a few months ago, kidnapped at Nkpor in Anambra State. The effort to get him kidnapped took the lives of two passers-by, who were felled by stray bullets released by the kidnappers to scare away people. Edochie was released a few days later after ransom was paid. Nkem Owoh alias Osuofia, is also a household name in the Nigerian home video industry. His comic acts have made him popular. He too was kidnapped in Anambra State and was released after N1.4m was paid to the kidnappers, according to reports. The kidnapping of these two stars, more than any other one, was seen as something that approximates to a sacrilege by the public. It sent cold shivers down the spine of many people, who thought that if these stars could be picked up by hooligans masquerading as kidnappers, who else is safe? But beyond the target of notable Nigerians, ordinary people are not spared. Take the case of 75-year-old Athanasius Ojilere. He was preparing to go to church on Sunday, November 15, when a group of five kidnappers, all very young, at around 7.30am, stormed his house in Umucheze, Ihitteafoukwu, Ekwereazu in the Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State and kidnapped him. Speaking with BusinessDay, a source close to the family, said the kidnappers, in an attempt to kidnap Ojilere, shot and wounded his daughter-in-law, Anthonia. One of his sons, Obinna also received gunshots injuries. Both are currently receiving medical attention. The kidnappers of Ojilere thereafter made contact with his family and demanded for N50 million without which they would kill him. Emmanuel Ojilere, former governorship aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State in the 2007 election and son of the kidnap victim, was reported to have told his father’s abductors that the family was ready to collect his father’s corpse. But after negotiation, the kidnappers got N25 million on Monday, November 23. The next day, they released Ojilere unharmed at Ahiara junction, a few kilometers away from Ojilere’s compound. Ojilere’s case did not get media attention because his was not a high profile kidnap. There have been several other cases like this. Reports reaching BussinessDay indicate that the kidnappers of Ojilere have been arrested. BusinessDay investigations reveal that the mastermind of the kidnap is a relation of Ojilere, a confirmation of what Pini Jason, executive assistant to the Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, said in an interview with BusinessDay. Many easterners living outside the region are unwilling to travel home for Christmas for fear of being kidnapped. In an interview with BusinessDay, Ebube Obododike, an information technology consultant in Lagos said for him, it is farewell to Christmas celebration in his village unless the governors of the southeast region deal with the menace. He said if sons and daughters of the southeast avoid the region, it would affect the economy of the area adversely. In an interview with BusinessDay, Chuks Iloegbunam, special adviser to Anambra State governor, Peter Obi on communication, said the state government has beefed up security in the state with the support of Ogbonnaya Onovo, Inspector-General of Police. He said there is heavy police in the state. He said the state government has started paying compensation to informants. He said five informants whose identities were concealed shared N10 million recently. On the situation in Imo State, Pini Jason said there had been no serious case of kidnapping in the state in the last one or two months except for people whose relatives arranged their abduction for money. He said the Imo State Government has vigilantes in all the 27 local government areas, adding that there are now about 200 operational vehicles equipped with communication gadgets for effective monitoring.