ONITSHA – Dusts raised by a kidnap incident which occurred since March 10, 2025 along Enugu/Benue road are yet to settle down as family members of Mr. Uchenna Okoro, one of the kidnapped victims,, are still crying aloud over his mysterious disappearance till date.
They lamented that ever since that March 10 tragedy when he was kidnapped by those suspected to be Fulani terrorist herdsmen while traveling from Enugu to Makurdi there have been no traces of his whereabouts to indicate that he had either been killed by his abductors or whether he managed to escape from their captivity.
In a press statement issued to newsmen via WhatsApp, the disgusted family members recalled that despite repeated inquiries, neither the Nigeria police nor the Army has given any official statement on Mr. Uchenna’s fate, adding that their silence has fueled suspicion, with some residents fearing he may have been killed and buried secretly in the forest, while others cling to hope that he is still alive but is being hidden somewhere by his abductors.
The statement which was signed on their behalf by one of his blood brothers, Frank Uzochukwu, added that apart from his immediate family members, the entire Amanator community leaders in Ebonyi state where the missing Uchenna Okoro hails from have condemned the worsening insecurity situation in the country at large and the Southeast region in particular, lamenting that people can no longer move freely without the risk of vanishing.
Insisting that Enugu/Benue road remains a terror path, the community leaders maintained that having been kidnapped by the suspected Fulani herdsmen and he vanished without a trace,
panic and sorrow have gripped them all.
“If someone like Mr. Uchenna Okoro, a respectable and successful businessman can disappear without a trace, then none of us is safe. This Enugu/Benue road has become a blood road”, they further lamented.
Recalling that they received terrifying calls from the kidnappers two weeks after the ugly incident, demanding ransom and issuing death threats, the dejected family members fumed that the terrifying calls from the kidnappers stopped abruptly after the second week of the incident, adding that ever since then, all attempts to trace or contact him have failed, even as he has not returned to his family, nor has his body been found”.
“His sudden disappearance has equally left his wife, children, and relatives in deep anguish. His community in Amanator describes the case as a “haunting mystery” that has thrown them into endless fear and mourning”.
“We don’t know if he is still alive or dead. Since his captors took him into the forest and he has never come out. The silence is worse than death itself,” the distraught family members further fumed.
The Enugu-Benue road, once busy with traders and travelers, has now earned a grim reputation as a highway of terror. Residents say kidnappings have become routine, yet the disappearance of a well-known businessman has heightened the atmosphere of dread.
As at the time of filing this report, the fate of Mr. Okoro Uchenna remains an unsettling mystery—a disappearance that has plunged his family and community into fear, grief, and unanswered questions.
Eyewitnesses recalled that heavily armed men suspected to be Fulani terrorist herdsmen had ambushed travelers along the highway, opening fire and abducting several victims, among whom was Mr. Uchenna, who was whisked away along side other victims into the dense forest that straddles the Enugu–Benue boundary.
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