By Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri
THESE are not the best of times for both the indigenes and those passing through Imo State. Hardly any day passes without anybody hearing ugly tales of the escapades of armed robbers or kidnappers. Gangsters are really having a field day in the state despite repeated assurances by the Rochas Okorocha administration and the police.

Apprehension: Residents of the state are daily getting apprehensive over the ugly development. It has become so bad that people now restrict their movement for fear of falling victims to these dare-devils. Many transact their businesses through cell phones. Night life is fast fading away in Owerri, the state capital as people now prefer to retire into the inner recesses of their homes before dusk.

The ease with which these hoodlums operate in the state has called to question claims that the security agencies have been equipped to fight crime and criminals. A few examples will suffice. There was stampede along Wetheral Road, Owerri last Friday morning, following the mindless invasion of the area by a gang of robbers. A number of people sustained varying degrees of injury while trying to run for safety from the danger zone.

One of the accounts of the incident had it that the robbers attacked a man, who went to withdraw some money from one of the new generation banks along Ikenegbu Road (names withheld).

Attack on private establishment

Another version claimed that the robbers attacked a private establishment that sells communication equipment, including telephone handsets, and carted away a huge sum of money.

However, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Sam Oodee, said “no report had reached the Command about any armed robbery attack on any commercial bank operating in Owerri. As soon as the Command was alerted, we radioed all our patrol vehicles to head towards the area and the feelers we got thereafter from them was that no bank was under siege.” Asked if the stampede could have taken place for the fun of it, the PPRO said “there was the possibility of a kidnap attempt but the incident is still not very clear to me”.

Events have since proved that nobody in Imo is safe. Even those who have uniformed and armed escorts are themselves living in fear and bondage. They are not spared the anguish of being attacked by armed hoodlums operating in Imo.

Late Uche Alaribe murdered by his kidnappers

The former Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Chief Godfrey Dikeocha, was kidnapped last Friday, in broad daylight, from his ancestral home in Umuoshi, Ama Isii Ndigbo, Uvuru, Aboh Mbaise local government area, by an eight-man armed gang.

His captives, Crime Alert gathered from a close family source, wore police uniform and closely followed Dikeocha in their Infinity Jeep, as he was driving into his house. It was also gathered that the former Speaker’s orderly virtually relaxed when he noticed that those following them were “policemen”.

A villager recounted with grief: “Their true mission was only known, albeit belatedly. The armed men ransacked the former Speaker’s house, shot sporadically before taking him and his Toyota Camry car away to an unknown destination.

The car was recovered from where it was abandoned at Ehime Mbano local government area. As at the time of talking with you, the bandits have not reached any member of his family.”

Two days earlier, the Medical Director of Saint Charles Hospital, Emekuku, Owerri North Local Government Council area of Imo State and husband of the Commissioner for Woman Affairs and Social Development, Dr. Henry Dozie, was similarly kidnapped by unknown gunmen.

Investigations revealed that the medical doctor was kidnapped immediately he reported in his hospital for the day’s business. It was further gathered that a member of the kidnap gang first came to the hospital last Tuesday and pretended to be having some serious health problems.

A close family source said: “He paid the consultation fee and was attended to by the medical director. After proper examination of the young man, the doctor ordered series of laboratory tests.”

The man said the fake patient reported the next day, allegedly to present his laboratory report, adding that while waiting for Dr. Dozie to arrive, he was fiddling with his cell phone but none of the nurses suspected any evil plan. “Surprisingly, as soon as the doctor arrived, the supposed patient, supported by his colleagues in crime, pulled out a gun and ordered the doctor into a waiting vehicle that was parked outside the hospital premises.”

NMA, Old Boys call for rescue: Meanwhile, the Old Boys of Holy Ghost College, Owerri, and members of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, have passionately appealed to the security agencies to swiftly move in and rescue Dozie. The NMA, in a recent press statement, described themselves as “endangered species”.

Similarly, the Anglican Bishop of Okigwe South, Rt. Rev. David Onuoha, narrowly cheated death in the hands of armed gangsters operating in Imo. It was not clear at press time if his attackers were armed robbers or kidnappers.

The hoodlums shot eleven times at the Bishop’s Toyota Sequoia Jeep with number plate Abuja FU 513 ABC. The bullet that would have hit him in his spine was miraculously stuck in his seat.

Bishop’s ordeal: Narrating his ordeal to Crime Alert, Bishop Onuoha said: “I was coming back home from Nnewi, Anambra State. On getting to Eziachi, Orlu local council area of Imo State, we started hearing sporadic gun shots from behind us.

We also saw that the black Murano Jeep coming behind us appeared very desperate to overtake us and I asked the driver, Mr. Oliver Okeke, to allow them to pass.  As soon as the driver stopped, the armed men rushed at us and ordered the driver to get out of the car.

The spirit of God descended heavily on me and I greeted them and they looked at me. One of them said ‘oh, he is a reverend, please leave him.’ The other said, ‘he is a man of God, don’t touch him’ and the third said ‘he is a Bishop. Let him go.’ The last one picked my phone and asked if he could go with it and I obliged.”

The Anglican cleric was slightly downcast when he could not continue with his journey as the hoodlums had shattered the two back tyres of his vehicle. The driver equally informed him that the exhaust pot and the gas pot of the air conditioning unit were all blown open.

Arrest of suspects: Meanwhile, the anti-kidnap squad of Imo State Police Command said it has arrested about seven suspects for their alleged involvement in kidnapping, including the kidnap and gruesome murder of a wine dealer, Mr. Emeka Alaribe. The suspects, before they were picked up by the anti-kidnap squad, were allegedly operating in two gangs and terrorizing Owerri and its environs.

Parading the suspects before newsmen in Owerri, the out-going Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, said the suspects, who were picked up from different parts of the state, have since made confessional statements to the police.

“This gang was responsible for the kidnap of a woman at Akwakuma, who they freed after collecting N500,000 ransom. The gang also kidnapped and killed one Emeka Alaribe, a wine dealer based in Ngor Okpala”, Abubakar said.