By Anayo Okoli
Umuahia—THERE are strong indications that scores of suspected kidnappers that have been holding Abia State, particularly Aba hostage in the past two years, may have been arrested while many others were feared to have been gunned down by the joint military task force, which was deployed by the federal government about two weeks ago.

Dispatching the task force to Abia State for the assignment, President Goodluck Jonathan had passed a stern  message through the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector-General of Police to the task force leaders that kidnappers and other criminal elements in Abia State and environs must be captured dead or alive.

True to the directive, many of the hoodlums have already fallen to the superior fire power of soldiers who carried the war to their den located in the thick forests mainly in Ukwa West, Ugwunagbo and Obingwa areas of the state.

Unconfirmed reports said that no fewer than 50 of the kidnappers were said to have been killed, while a lot more were said to have been arrested, including the council chairman of Ukwa West, Mr. Henry Nwokomgbe, who was said to have links with the criminals.

In fact, one of the strongest kidnap kingpin in the state, known as Osisika Ngwu, was alleged to be the council chairman’s security aide, just as he (arrested chairman) was alleged to always have kidnappers as escorts.

It was alleged that whenever he was coming to Umuahia for any assignment, the hoodlums would escort him to a point and wait till he was through and then escort him back.

Special Adviser to Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State on Security, Captain Awa Udonsi (rtd.), confirmed that some kidnappers were shot dead last week when they were trying to escape from Ukwa West to Rivers State through Eberi Omuma River.

He said the hoodlums engaged troops stationed at the border area, adding that those arrested in the process were handed over to the police.

But the Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, 82 Division Enugu, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, could not confirm the incident.

According to him, “I am not aware of the killing of fleeing kidnapers in Port Harcourt axis.”
Meanwhile, Governor Orji has presented 20 additional patrol vehicles to the security agencies in aid of the ongoing operation.

This brings to 30 the number of vans given the task force, with soldiers having 20 and the police 10.
The security situation is improving by the day as the task force intensifies its operation, moving daily inside the forest where it had taken the battle to the kidnappers.

About 1,000 soldiers are already in Abia State for the operation and in the words of the Inspector-General of Police, Abubakar Ringim, more might still be mobilized to ensure that the criminals were completely wiped out of Abia state.

Ringim had vowed that if the criminals refused to surrender by this week they would be annihilated.