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Herdsmen have reportedly killed an unidentified man and kidnapped a 17-year daughter of a teacher at Azagba Mixed Secondary School in Isele-Azagba, Aniocha South Council Area of Delta State.
Consequently, the community’s vigilance group has been combing the entire area in a bid to rescue the abducted girl, before the abductors made a call for N10million ransom.
Sources in the community, confirmed that the incident happened on Wednesday night about 7.45pm, saying hoodlums shot in three areas of the town simultaneously.
They said herdsmen went to the school premises, “killed one of our teachers, abducted its principal, shot me and another teacher, before the community youths and vigilante, mobile policemen, came to rescue us.
“The community has come under attacks in recent times, leading to the death of a teacher, while others received injuries of varying degrees that kept them in hospital until last month.
“As I speak, the entire community has gathered at the palace, while the vigilance group has entered the bush, trying to trail the herdsmen and see if they could rescue the girl, but the kidnappers have called and are asking for N10m. The girl’s mother was spared, because she is nursing a baby, while the husband is a civil servant resident in Abuja,” he said.
Efforts to speak with the state Commissioner of Police (CP) Hafiz Inuwa, failed as calls to his mobile telecellphone was neither received or calls returned.
But the state Commissioner for Primary and Basic Education, Patrick Ukah, said they are in touch with the community and that everything necessary was being done to free the girl from her abductors.
Relatedly, the Chief Cassidy Iloba-led team recently dislodged about 1,000 Fulani herdsmen that seized Oko Amakom Island in Oshimili South Council Area of the state.
Speaking on the incident, the Akwe of Amakom, Chief Nwamana Frank, expressed appreciation to the state government and his Senior Special Assistant on Security, Iloba and Special Assistant on Special Duties for their gallantry.
“We now enjoy peace as the herdsmen were making life unbearable for our people. Not only will they destroy our crops and climb palm trees to drink our palm wine, they were also raping our women.
“People were scared from entering their farms since after the rainy season in November last year when they invaded our farmlands. We pray they don’t return again,” he said.
The Onihe of Umoko, simply identified as Okakwu, who spoke on behalf of the Ako of Oko Kingdom, Obi Osita Onwuka, also expressed joy, saying, “Before now, there were killings, kidnappings and all manner of criminality by the herdsmen, which has all become a thing of the past as the people of community now sleep with both eyes closed.”
