By Chuks Eke
Landlords in Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra state, under the umbrella of Onitsha South Landlords Association Forum, OSLAF have raised an alarm over the rampant kidnappings and abductions of law abiding citizens in the area by those they identified as ransom and ritual kidnappers, saying that the actions have left much to be desired.
They therefore called on the state Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu and other security agencies to urgently embark on an overhauling of the security architecture of the state so as to stem the tide of kidnappings and abductions in the state.
Chairman of the forum, Chief Nzeako Obidigbo and his Secretary, Chief Kingsley Chukwuemeka, in a press statement, also called on the chairman of Onitsha South Local Government Area, Chief Emeka Orji to work in concert with the stakeholders to urgently nip in the bud the current wave of kidnappings in the commercial city, particularly in the crime prone Fegge area.
They further called on Onitsha Police Area Commander, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO in charge of Fegfe Police Division and the Department of State Services, DSS to rise up to the challenges of the ocassion.
The call, the group said, has become imperative following the recent kidnappings in Fegge in the last one week which they said has affected no fewer than three victims in the last one week.
According to the statement, “On August 11 this year, at about 7.30pm a man was kidnapped at Porthacourt Road by Miss Elems at gun point along with his car by some criminals who were armed with AK-47 and operated in Keke”.
“Two days later, at the same point another man, Stanley Nwatu, was kidnapped and whisked away with his Toyota Corolla car on August 13, 2025 at about 7.45pm when he went to visit his wife at one Amaka Salon opposite Miss Elems street by Porthacourt Road, Fegge. He was said to have been released after paying over N2m ransom which he transferred out from his cellphone”.
“Just last Friday, a five-man kidnapping gang who were operating with Keke, putting military camouflage and armed with AK-47 riffle snatched Toyota Corolla from the owner at about 7.45 am at Obosi street, Fegge”.
The forum suggested that one of the measures to curb crime in Fegge and the Local Government was the construction of gates in nine entrances/exits of Fegge.
“The nine exits/entrance gates in which the group should be provided include Niger, Uga, Premier, Porthacourt Rd, Upper Iweka, Ochanja, Emordi via Bida Road, Modebe via Bida, Sokoto/Haruna, described Fegge as a small community but densely populated with about 1.5 million persons residing in the area”.
They contended that with these measures and effective security, violent crimes would be a thing of the past.
The latest kidnapping incident, according to eye witnesses, occured when the kidnappers operating on a Sienna bus abducted the victim along Port Harcourt road, near Uga Street, Fegge.
According to the source, the victim was said to have been blocked with the kidnappers’ Sienna, even as he frantically shouted for help.
Inspite of the shout for help, the armed men were said to have alighted from their Sienna bus already packed with people unaware that they were kidnappers.
In a jiffy, said the eyewitness, about five of them came out from the vehicle, blocked the man armed with their AK 47 raffles and brought out their handcuffs, pretending to be security officers. The man was said to have resisted to be handcuffed but they succeeded only in one of his hands before pushing him into their awaiting vehicle and zooming off towards Upper Iweka area.
OSLAF frowned at this ugly development, lamenting that after their recent alarm, the Police in Onitsha have not done anything tangible to the kidnappers’ excesses, except mounting road blocks where they allegedly extort money from Keke riders, adding that the Police need intelligence driven operation not road blocks.
They recalled that in the last one month plus, over five persons have been kidnapped and heavy ransom paid before they were released.
“Their cars are yet to be recovered. What kind of Policing are we talking about here? We should engage Police driven by intelligence not road blocks” said OSLAF.
They called for a state of emergency to be declared on security in Onitsha, lamenting that security has collapsed completely in Fegge part of the commercial town”.
OSLAF warned that they would continue to embark on aggressive protest if the criminals were not arrested and another citizen kidnapped again.
