A tricycle operator abducted alongside a female farmer in Abia State has narrated how he used Igbo to reveal the captors’ den, tipping off relatives, security operatives, and community volunteers who rescued them from captivity.
The account was shared in a Facebook post on Monday by ABN TV.
The victim, Dennis Okechi, said he and Onyinyechi Ekechukwu were kidnapped on 10 June while returning from their farm in the Umuawa Alaocha community in Ohuhu, Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia.
According to Mr Okechi, six armed men intercepted them, dragged them into a forest and demanded a N10 million ransom.
Igbo message that changed everything
Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Okechi said the abductors later handed him a phone to contact his family.
Rather than negotiate the ransom, he used Igbo to disclose their location secretly.
“I quickly used the Igbo language to alert them about the area where the bandits had dragged Onyinyechi and me. I told them that I was being held in the Udengwu area.
The kidnappers, however, became suspicious and angry at not speaking English, so that they could hear what I told my people.
“They threatened to shoot me,” he said.
Police confirm rescue
In a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, the police spokesperson in the state, Maureen Chinaka, confirmed the incident.
Ms Chinaka, a deputy superintendent of police, said the victims were abducted at about 10:30 a.m. by six suspected Fulani herders while returning from the farm.
The incident came to the attention of the command, she said, prompting the Ohuhu Divisional Police Headquarters to work with vigilantes, forest guards and community youths to launch a rescue operation.
“On sighting the operatives, the suspected kidnappers fled, abandoning the victims.”
Ms Chinaka said the victims were successfully rescued, while one of them, who sustained injuries to the head and hand, was taken to the hospital for treatment.
She added that investigations were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
Renewed security concerns
The incident adds to growing concerns over kidnapping in Abia State.
Last month, police arrested a suspected kidnapper during a raid on a forest hideout in Old Umuahia. They rescued a victim while recovering part of a ransom allegedly paid to the suspects.
The state also witnessed public outrage following the abduction of orthopaedic surgeon Bonaventure Aguocha, whose release after nine days in captivity led the Nigerian Medical Association to suspend a planned strike.
The latest rescue highlights the increasing role of collaboration between security agencies and local communities in responding to kidnapping threats across the state.