There is fear in Enugu-Ezike in Igbo Eze North local government area of Enugu State following the abduction of over 35 passengers by suspected herdsmen.

The incident occurred on Thursday, January 9, 2025, along the Enugu-Nsukka Road.

Three buses were attacked, and initially, four Nigerian Army personnel were taken, but one, PTE Usendu Emediong (24NA/87/7560), managed to escape.

However, PTE Usoro Ezekiel Paul (24NA/87/6751), Jeremiah Inimbom Thomas (24NA/87/7937) and PTE Victor Itiat Godwin (24NA/87/8348) were taken away with the other passengers.

According to an eyewitness, the kidnappers numbering 17 marched all the passengers into the bush after operating for an hour.

“Not far from where I’m lodging in my hometown in Enugu-Ezike, a 17-member ragtag Fulani herdsmen kidnap gang operated for about 60 minutes on a busy road that links the eastern part to the northern part of the country. The road is bad,” he said.

“They were successfully attacked three 18-seater buses and kidnapped at least 35 people from these buses forcefully. In the course of moving the victims into the bush, one of them managed to escape. It was when he came out that he narrated how they were kidnapped and we got to know he is a soldier.

“He said he and three others soldiers were going from Akwa Ibom to Kaduna State in one of the commercial vehicles.

“Yesterday, local hunters, about three of them from my village on their usual routine encountered the kidnappers in the bush but had to hide. They heard one of victims complaining that he couldn’t continue walking as he was tired but guess what? He was shot dead.

“Hours after, both the local hunters and the military operatives entered the bush and saw the dead body which was later taken to the morgue.

“This Sunday morning, a helicopter has been hovering around this town causing apprehension among villagers, though without any rigid invasion to rescue the victims. I believe the Fulani herders and the victims are not still in the bush.”

Meanwhile, a military signal obtained by SaharaReporters confirmed the abduction of the soldiers.

The signal said personnel of 87 Regular Recruits Intake (87RRI) were abducted along Enugu/Nsukka Road.

“TEXT: SPECIAL SITREP. NO0 AS AT 110900A JAN 25. KIDNAPPING AT ABOUT 101515A JAN 25 INFO RECEIVED FROM 24NA/87/7560 PTE USENDU EMEDIONG ETIM REVEALED THAT 3 X SLDRS OF 87RRI CMM 24NA/87/6751 PTE USORO EZEKIEL PAUL WITH PHONE NO 070****** CMM 24NA/87/7937 PTE JEREMIAH INIMBOM THOMAS WITH PHONE NO 080******* AND 24NA/87/8348 PTE ITIAT VICTOR GODWIN WITH PHONE NO 080****** WHILE RTN FROM PASS WERE KIDNAPPED ALONG ENUGU – NSUKKA RD AT ABOUT 091740A JAN 25 IN A COMMERCIAL VEH FROM AKWA IBOM TO KADUNA STATE. REQ YOU FWD INFO TO ASA FOR NEC ACTION. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION IN PROGRESS. PSE ACK,” the signal released by Major AE Edet read.

Over 100 illegal miners have been arrested in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State.

The miners were arrested in a sting operation reportedly led by the Cross River State Security Adviser, Maj. General (retd) O. U. Obono.

The illegal miners, suspected to be foreigners, were arrested on Saturday morning as they attempted to evade an army checkpoint in Ugep.

The suspects were said to have boarded several empty trucks commuting through the area from the northern part of the state and were bound for Calabar, the state capital.

The majority of them are said to be between the ages of 12 and 26 and were apprehended with diggers, shovels, drilling machines, and attendant earth drilling gear.

Security personnel who interrogated the suspects on the ground confirmed that, in their profiling, several of them confessed to being non-Nigerians.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Irene Ugbo, said she had not been briefed on the arrest.

Cross River State has been besieged in recent times by a large number of foreign miners who come to illegally exploit natural resources in its forests.

Last year, Bette Philip Obi, a member representing Boki 1 State Constituency, raised an alarm as over 1,000 illegal miners had invaded his community.

The lawmaker revealed this at the Cross River State House of Assembly while sponsoring a matter of Urgent Public Importance on the encroachment of foreign miners in Okwa 1 and 2 and Ukwango communities in Boki Local Government Area.

A late-night fire swept through Ipetumodu’s well-known weekly marketplace, Akinola Market, on Friday and destroyed goods valued at millions.

The fire reportedly started in the area where yams are kept.

Many traders, who had closed for the day hours earlier, rushed back to the scene in distress after receiving news of the fire.

“I was called late on Friday. I had left the market about four hours earlier. The part affected is the stalls where yam sellers usually keep their produce. Those who contacted us also informed NSCDC operatives, and they responded. But the destruction was massive,” a trader said.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) confirmed the incident on Saturday, attributing the fire to negligence during waste disposal.

NSCDC’s spokesperson, Kehinde Adeleke, explained that the fire likely started from refuse burning.

Adeleke said, “Akinola Market in Ipetumodu was gutted by a late-night fire on Friday, 10th January 2025. The fire broke out in a section of the market where foodstuffs, particularly yams, were being sold.

“Properties and foodstuffs worth millions of naira were destroyed. Preliminary investigations revealed that the fire started from refuse set ablaze by yet-to-be-identified individuals after the close of business on Friday.

“Akinola Market is a weekly market held every Friday. After the last market day, traders collected their refuse for burning but negligently left the fire unextinguished before heading home, which led to the inferno. Upon receiving a distress call, we immediately deployed operatives to the scene.”