The traditional ruler of Akpulu, in Ideato North Local Government Area, of Imo State HRH, Eze Cletus Umeji, Dim Ogu II of Akpulu, was on Tuesday last week kidnapped by some unidentified gun men, while on his way to Nnewi, in Anambra State for his routine medical check.
A family source who pleaded anonymity, said, the gun men reportedly trailed him to a point where they double crossed his vehicle, pulled out his companion, abandoned the Lexus 300 they came with and zoomed off with the Monarch in his Toyota High-Lander SUV. After driving for a while, they also kidnapped another person on their way and speed off with the victim’s vehicle to an unknown destination.
This, is happening barely two months after the former Chairman of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH, Eze Samuel Ohiri, of Orodo, was also kidnapped by a group of gun wielding hoodlums in Imo.
Efforts to speak to the President of Akpulu Improvement Union,AIU James Anyaehie, was unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls put to his phone as at press time.
However, one of the monarchs who spoke to our reporter in confidence, said, “the kidnappers have established contact but we have not yet spoken to our colleague in their custody to know if he is alive or not. We are deeply concerned about his health, which may have deteriorated as a result of his long stay in the kidnappers’ den”.
He expressed concern over the safety of traditional rulers in the state, adding that some time ago, many of them were murdered in cold blood within a period of six months. This he said, was not the case before the inception of the current administration.
When contacted, the former President General of Akpulu Town Union and current National President, Association of Town Union Presidents General, Chief Emeka Diwe, expressed concern over the prevailing situation which he described as alien to the culture and tradition of the South Easterners.
“Things that were not heard of in the South East, have now become the norm, rather than the exception. These acts of criminality were alien to the cultural and traditional norms of Ndi Igbo, but it appears that something has gone wrong with our value system, hence, the multiplicity of atrocious activities”.
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