October 21, (THEWILL) -- A grandmother in her late sixties, Ikwor Nkechinyere, has been abducted by yet-to-be-identified gunmen at Akanto-Ndukwe-Amasiri Farm Settlement located between the border areas of Edda and Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
THEWILL reports that the unknown gunmen attacked Ikwor Nkechinyere at the farm, where she was abducted, but her granddaughter escaped, after which she raised an alarm.
Speaking during an interview with the Leader of Essa Ruling Council, Amasiri, Retired Sanitarian, Chief Ezeaba Samuel Uchenna, disclosed that while Ikwor Nkechinyere was harvesting cassava in her farm, four armed boys suddenly came out of the bush, shooting sporadically before abducting the woman.
According to him, so many persons had been killed in the disputed farmland, noting that numerous lives had also been lost, even as he recalled that a former retired soldier and his wife were killed in the disputed land, and their bodies were yet to be found.
He said, "I was at home yesterday when we were told that the Eda people came and destroyed the health centre built by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for settlers and people who farm there. When I tried to act as a leader to inquire more, I was told that a woman from Amangwu Edda, precisely, was abducted when she went to harvest in her farm with the granddaughter, who is a seven-year-old girl", Chief Ezeaba Samuel said.
He further explained that it was when the abducted grandmother was trying to move the cassava she had uprooted that the men of the underworld appeared and whisked her away to an unknown destination.
"So when they were there, the granddaughter said they had brought out the first load, because usually Okada used to pick them from there, because the woman could not carry it to Amasiri town. So when they were going to bring out the second one, they just saw four people come out from the bush with guns. This little girl said as soon as she saw them, because of the distance that the grandmother was, she decided to retreat and took to her heels and started running back.
"And then, within a short period, she started hearing gunshots. And up till now, the grandmother has not been seen. We thought that the state government had come into this matter and were surprised it's resurfacing."
Chief Ezeaba Samuel Uchenna, however, commended the Ebonyi State Ministry of Border Peace and Conflict Resolution for wading into the matter when it first surfaced on the 20th day of January, when there was an instruction by the local government chairman that all schools should be tidied up, which resulted in the crisis.
Speaking also, the Secretary-General of Isioru Amasiri, Etu Richard Obiahu, said they were doing their normal business when they heard about the abduction of the woman, after which the youths of Amasiri went into the bush in search of her, but she was yet to be found.
"We were in the town doing our normal business when we started hearing a gunshot in the bush. One Okada man brought a little girl inside the town and asked the girl what was happening. She was telling us how they went to the farm with their grandmother, and they met a militia group.
"They invaded their farm, abducted, pointed a gun at the grandmother, and she ran away. So they took the grandmother as she was running. She started hearing the gunshot.
"So that was why the youth from the village went in search of the woman. Even today, we have not seen the woman. And when we get to the bush part, the farm settlement, they have already vandalised the health centre there, scattered everywhere, burned some houses. So up to now, we have not even seen the mother, the grandmother that she went to farm with", he said.
Meanwhile, speaking after a security meeting with leaders of Amasiri, Afikpo Local Government Area Chairman, Timothy Nwachi, said that there was a joint security effort with Edda Local Government Area to secure the release of the abducted grandmother.
"The leaders of Amasri were all in my office and the security chiefs and I can tell you that with the approach we put on ground, the hostility will begin to come down, because the leaders have seen the truth and they have agreed with me as the chairman of the local government area that there is need for us to embrace peace, not just to embrace peace, but to return to status quo with our sister local government area, Edda.
"It is unfortunate that what happened, happened. But with this afternoon's resolution, which we have taken, peace will begin to return. The leaders of Amasiri have bestowed upon us the blessings to deal with whoever is perpetrating criminality, all in the name of a boundary dispute.
"My security chiefs, ranging from the police, the army and the DSS, have resolved to meet with their Edda counterparts for an amicable resolution for the release of the woman", he assured.