BY CHIDI NKWOPARA
OWERRI—Anxiety has engulfed the family of the Medical Director, General Hospital Umuguma, Dr. Moses Amako, who was kidnapped last Thursday by armed hoodlums as he was driving home from work.

Confirming the ugly incident to newsmen, Amako’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Christie Oby Ndukwe, lamented that since Dr. Amako was picked up by the gang, he had not been traced and his captors had not contacted the family in any way.

Noting that the ugly incident occurred at about 7pm, Mrs. Ndukwe also recalled that Dr. Amako and his wife were on their way home when suddenly a white Jeep dangerously overtook their Honda City car and forced them to a halt.

She said: “The hoodlums opened fire on the tyres, and shot their victim on his leg before taking him away in the Jeep to an unknown destination.”

What irked the woman most was that her brother inlaw’s captors have neither made their intentions known nor made any contact with members of the Amako family.

She urged those behind the kidnap to “please release the hapless doctor unconditionally to his family”, considering his contributions towards saving lives.

“While we pray that he returns home safely, we also wish to state that his kidnap may have been masterminded by those who succeeded in removing him from his position without due process,” Mrs. Ndukwe reasoned.

Mrs. Ndukwe said Dr. Amako was due to retire from the civil service in February 2012, and pleaded with security agencies to go all out and save their bread winner from the imminent danger he was currently facing.