…targeted kidnap victim escapes as 2 vehicles riddled with bullets
By Chuks Eke
Bullets allegedly aimed at a fleeing kidnap victim by unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Tuesday night killed a woman beggar at Nkpor in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state.
Loading ...The incident, according to eye witnesses, occurred at about 9 p.m. Tuesday at Our Lady’s Bus Stop, Nkpor, along Enugu/Awka/Onitsha old road.
According to the source, the suspected kidnappers were chasing the owner of a moving Honda Crosstour SUV and as he was swerving his vehicle up and down looking for an escape route, they continued firing gun shots at his vehicle.
At the last count, the car owner hit an electric pole standing beside the road leading to our Our Lady’s Industrial Centre, Nkpor put off his engine, opened the door, jumped out of the vehicle and took to his heels in a life threatening battle to escape being kidnapped alife or shot dead in the process by the vicious gunmen.
It was gathered that by Providence, he barely managed to escape, while the stray bullets fired by the suspects killed the woman beggar instantly and at the same time, riddled two vehicles parked opposite OVL petrol station with the bullets.
The sources stated that suspects’ anger was aggravated when they were shooting indiscriminately and operatives of a vigilante group guarding the area, responded fire for fire.
The gunmen, on hearing a harassing gun fired by the vigilante operatives, allegedly drew closer to the direction of the vigilante men to gun them down as they have more sophisticated guns, but could not get the vigilante men.
In anger they riddled the two cars used as cover by the vigilante men with bullets.
An eye witness who pleaded anonymity said that the yet to be identified gunmen drove in two exortic cars and three motorcycles when they carried out the operation.
“They came with two costly cars and about three motorcycles, they were about seven in number but four were trying to kidnap the owner of the Honda Crosstour SUV. They blocked him to kidnap him but he jumped the drainages with the car and as the electric pole prevented him from driving further, he jumped out of the car and fled”.
“It was because the local vigilante group responded fire for fire that the gunmen then came for them and they ran away as the gunmen have more sophisticated guns. They angrily riddled the cars the vigilante operatives used as cover, with bullets”.
“The body of the dead woman was yesterday morning removed by men of the Ogidi Police Division in an ambulance to a nearby morque, while the partially smashed SUV belonging to the escaped kidnap victim was driven to the Ogidi Police Division.
All efforts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga proved abortive as his phone rang without response, but the Divisional Police Officer at Ogidi, DPO, Sani Armed, (CSP), who simply confirmed the incident, said the body of the dead woman had been moved to a nearby mortuary, while investigations are in progress.
