….Driver killed, kidnappers yet to speak

By: Chidi Nkwopara, OWERRI.
Boisterous immediate past Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Dr. Festus Odimegwu, was Sunday morning shocked beyond description, as dare devil hoodlums kidnapped his wife, Stella Chinwe Odimegwu.

Vanguard investigations revealed that the hoodlums stormed the Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Assa Ubirielem, Orsu local council area of Imo State, where Mrs. Odimegwu went to worship, kidnapped her and as at press time remained incommunicado.

It was further gathered that the kidnap victim was apparently unaware that she was being closely trailed by the rampaging gang to the church where she was eventually cornered after mass and kidnapped.

“Her driver had hardly driven a few metres from where she entered her vehicle when a group of gunmen, apparently hanging around the church premises, shot and killed the driver on the spot”, a villager told Vanguard.

Continuing, the villager recounted that before Mrs. Odimegwu could understand what was playing out the hoodlums whisked her away at gunpoint to a yet-to-be identified location.

Spirited efforts made by Vanguard to reach the woman’s husband, Dr. Odimegwu, proved abortive, but his very close relations said he was not only angry with the development but looked totally downcast.

Similarly, the Imo State Police Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Linus Nwaiwu, could not be reached on his mobile phone.