Gunmen, suspected to be herders, have abducted 15 residents in Mgbuji, Eha-Amufu, a community in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria’s Southeast.

The victims were abducted at about 7:00 a.m. on Monday along Mgbuji-Agu road within the community, according to a report by The Punch

A resident of the area, Onyekachi Odo, said some of the villagers were going to their farms with tricycles when they were intercepted by some gunmen numbering over 20.

The gunmen took the victims to an unknown location.

A spokesperson of the community, Chijioke Ogbodo, announced the abduction on Monday.

He decried the constant attack and abduction of residents of the community by terrorists, accusing security agencies of doing nothing to quell the attacks.

“Since they (suspected herders) started attacking our community, neither the police nor the military had arrested any of the terrorists.

“We received the information on the attack this morning. We called all the security agents deployed to Eha-Amufu, but unfortunately, they didn’t respond to our distress calls. This is our tragedy,” Ogbodo was quoted as saying.

He called on the state government to rescue the victims.

When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, told our correspondent that police had not gotten “a clear information” on the attack.

Ndukwe said the police in the state were making efforts to ascertain the true state of the situation and “obtain relevant facts that will aid appropriate police actions.”

Frequent attacks

Mgbuji and other neighbouring communities in Eha-Amufu have been experiencing frequent attacks by suspected herders for a while now.

The latest incident occurred about one month after three persons were killed by suspected herders in the community.

Earlier this month, gunmen suspected to be herdsmen reportedly abducted seven residents of the same community and shot three others.

Commissioner of Police in the state, Abubakar Lawal, visited the area last month, alongside top officials of the State Security Service, Nigerian Army and Nigerian Airforce, among others, as part of the efforts to end the attacks in the area.

The attacks have continued despite assurances by the security agencies to “decisively tackle” it.

PT