Soldiers from 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army have set ablaze a house near Aba, Abia State, allegedly used by kidnappers to detain their victims until ransom is paid. But how long was the den used by the criminals, and why did it escape the villagers’ notice? Sunny Nwankwo reports
IT was a small shelter, no bigger than a farm hut. Its corrugated roofing sheets had seen better days. The mud wall looked fairly strong, dignified with sheets of window louvres. But tucked in the bushes in the backyards of a village near Aba in Osisioma Local Government Area of Abia State, the mudhouse was a curious structure.
What was it used for in Umuagbai village, a sleepy community not too far from the bustling Enyimba City?
The soldiers who visited it had one answer: a kidnappers’ den where victims were holed up while ransom negotiations went on.
It won’t serve that purpose anymore. For the soldiers promptly descended on it, smashing its wall down before setting it on fire. The operation was led by the Commanding Officer of the battalion, Umar Sidi Kasim.
The gang was said to be operating from neighbouring Rivers State. The kingpin and members of the group, it was gathered, relied on some local members, usually commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators, who tracked and provided information on targets before the kingpin and others would move in for the kill.
The local foot soldiers reportedly set up the small den where the victims were kept pending the outcome of negotiations.
Speaking on how his men busted the kidnappers’ hideout just over 30 minutes’ drive from the heart of the commercial town, Lt. Col. Sidi brought it all down to a persistent, long and meticulous effort of the battalion’s intelligence team following a tip-off.
Sidi said the hoodlums had been terrorising Aba and its environs, kidnapping many, one of whom was a Dubai-based businesman.
It was gathered that the Dubai based victim whose name was yet to be ascertained was said to have been kidnapped by the gang at Okpu Umuobo being being taken taken to a location which was discovered to be Umuagbai village.
It was gathered that while the kidnappers were on their way to their hideout, soldiers got hint of their movement and laid ambush for them. On sighting the soldiers, the kidnappers reportedly engaged the army in a shootout which forced them to abandon their victim and a black coloured Land Rover Sports Utility Vehicle with registration number Lagos FST 754 DC.
Two members of the gang were reported dead during the shootout, while two others said to be kingpins of the group escaped during the crossfire; the victim was said to have escaped from them.
Questions arise: how long has the kidnappers’ hideout been in existence? How many victims were taken there? Why did the villagers not spot the den as soon as it was put up, and why did they not report to the authorities?
Sidi said that other gang members were being trailed even as he confirmed that the gang came to Aba from Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to strike whenever their target was spotted in town by their informants in Aba and would immediately leave for Port Harcourt after their operation, leaving their victim in the custody of their gang members in Aba. It was said that the local gang members were the ones who released the victim as soon as a deal was struck with the family.
He said that burning down the house was part of government’s step to discourage people from using their houses as hideouts for kidnappers and keeping victims of kidnapping.
Urging the residents of Aba to provide the army with prompt information about the activities of criminal elements within their vicinity, the army colonel assured that the army would ensure that residents of Aba sleep with their eyes closed.
In a similar development, the soldiers attached to Operation Mensa 14 Brigade, Ohafia Forward Operation Base (FOB), Owaza in Ukwa West Local Government of Abia State have confiscated an unmarked white truck carrying about 50,000 liters of unrefined crude oil.
Speaking to newsmen at Umuebulungwu village in Asa, Ukwa West LGA, the 14 Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Lawrence Fejokwu represented by Captain Ishaya Banki, the Officer in-charge of FOB, said they were able to trace and confiscate the truck through with the assistance of the Umuebulungwu community. He, however, attributed the success of the operation to the fallout of the operation “Crocodile Smile” recently launched by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Burutai.
Banki, lamenting that the country was losing so much money to the activities of vandals, described the act of the vandals as economic sabotage to the country’s economy and President Muhammdu Buhari administration’s efforts to reposition the economy in the face of the global economic downturn.
He warned vandals to look for something meaningful to do, saying that they would not fold their arms to watch criminals satisfy their selfish desires and cause more pains to Nigerians.
“The hoodlums laid a pipe from the source where they were siphoning the crude from to the bank of Ohando waterfront, using a pumping machine to pump the crude into the waiting truck. When we got the information, we analysed and swung into action. But by the time we got to this waterfront they had already moved the truck and smartly covered their tracks. But with the help of the villagers and our intelligence, we were able to trace the truck to this village (Umuebulungwu) and have been guarding it since Wednesday.
“We are however making arrangements to tow back the truck to safety and awaiting further directives. So far, from our investigations, we believe the crude in the truck is about fifty thousand liters and efforts are on to track the owner of the truck. But like I said, our next moves will be determined by the orders I get from my superior”.
Some of the nearby residents denied having knowledge of the vandals as they claimed that they saw the truck parked in their neighbourhood while they returned home from their farms.
Recall that the federal government had launched the operation “Crocodile Smile” to curb the activities of vandals and pirates on the country’s waterways, an exercise that has started yielding fruit in Abia State.
