There is tension on E1 Close, 7th Avenue in
the FESTAC Town area of Lagos State after gunmen invaded the area and abducted
two residents.
The
victims are a 26-year-old married woman, Oluchi Jovita, and a 45-year-old man,
Remigus Igwe.
It was learnt that the
assailants, said to be four men in military uniform, went to the area in a
speedboat around 10pm on Thursday.
It
was gathered that the gunmen, who also wore masks, dragged Jovita out of her
apartment.
The
abductors, who were said to have sneaked into E1 Close through an opening
created in a fence, also brought out Igwe, who lived close to Jovita, and
whisked away the two victims through a bush path.
It
was learnt that the gunmen escaped in a speedboat through the river beside the
FESTAC Town link road.
It was gathered that the
matter was reported at the FESTAC Town Police Division, and operatives went to
the scene, where they searched in vain for the abducted residents and the
gunmen.
On
a visit to the area on Monday, Jovita and Igwe’s apartments were locked.
A
resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gunmen did not shoot in
order not to alert anyone, adding that it was the woman’s husband who went to
the police station.
He
said, “It was around 10pm on Thursday. Most of us had locked our gates. The
gunmen went to the apartments of their victims and ordered them out at
gunpoint. They did not use the gates and they did not shoot so as not to arouse
suspicion.
“It
was after they had left that news got to me that two persons were abducted. The
policemen came to this place, but the gunmen had escaped. We suspect that there
could be an insider giving information to the kidnappers.
“The
two residents have yet to return home. Their families may have been contacted
for ransoms, but nobody knows.”
A
police source at the division said the operatives saw the footsteps of the
gunmen, adding that their escape was successful because they came on a
speedboat.
He
said, “The woman’s husband, Eze, came to the station around 11pm to report that
his wife and another neighbour had been abducted.
“Policemen
from the division mounted a stop-and-search points on the roads, but there was
no result.
“We
came across the kidnappers footsteps along the bank of the Amuwo Odofin river.
That made the arrest difficult because the hoodlums came and escaped through the
waterways. They broke the fence and attacked their victims.”
Our
correspondent gathered that the matter had been transferred to the State
Department of Criminal Intelligence and Investigation, Yaba.
The
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the
incident.
She
said, “The case is under investigation. Effort is in top gear to get the
abductees freed.”
Source:The
Punch
Tags
Society