“We have been subjected to paying millions of naira in ransom."
Igbo people in Benue State say they are being attacked, kidnapped and
killed by bandits and herdsmen.
They claimed that at least 50 of their kinsmen had been kidnapped and
some of them killed.
Okafor Nnolim, one of the leader’s of the Igbo community in Gboko, on
Monday told journalists at a press conference in Enugu, that almost
every week an Igbo person was not kidnapped or killed in Benue State.
Nnolim said: “We have been subjected to paying millions of naira in ransom.
“We can no longer do our businesses freely for fear of being kidnapped
or murdered. Since January this year, we have had over 50 Igbo people
kidnapped and some murdered in cold blood by bandits and suspected
herdsmen.”
Also speaking, Ndukaku Onyekwere, a trader at the Gboko Central
Market, said, “Igbo in Benue State are being systematically decimated
and our businesses are gradually being ruined by these kidnappers and
bandits.”
Another Igbo man, Ikem Ani, stated that his kinsmen had been subjected
to untold hardship.
“There is virtually no week that an Igbo person is not kidnapped. We
have tried to engage the state police command to no avail. We are,
therefore, crying out for the world to know the fate of Ndigbo in
Benue State,” Ani explained.