FEATURE: How Enugu’s Porous Borders Aid Kidnapping In Udenu
Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State is the gateway of the south-eastern zone of Nigeria to its northern parts. Of late, many communities in Udenu have been witnessing cases of kidnapping, with the latest being Imilike-Etiti, Ezimo, Ada-Obollo, Amalla and Agu-Orba, among others.
It would be recalled that Senator Ishaku Abbo, who represented Adamawa North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, had, last week, while featuring on a political programme hosted by Africa Independent Television, alleged that “insurgents have found their ways into Enugu State through Benue/Kogi borders.”
The recurring incidences of kidnapping despite the presence of military and police checkpoints at strategic areas in the LGA have given residents and well-meaning persons concerns.
A security consultant and native of Obollo-Afor in Udenu LGA told THE WHISTLER that it would be difficult to arrest the situation through the conventional police and military checkpoints because the perpetrators operate via bushes and thick forests, and they move their captives at night.
Nnaji said, “The trend of their movement has been established. They migrate from neighbouring local government areas in Benue, through Amalla, Ogwu Obollo-Afor, and Okpakerekere Umuitodo, into Umuosigide Obollo-Etiti, through the Igboneme axis, into Ezimo.
“They also follow through Iyiocha, crossing the road from Nkakwu into Umuezugwu Imilike down to Ohebe Orba and Eha Ndiagu.
“These are bush ways. You can’t get them along the roads where our security operatives mount roadblocks. And local vigilantes who should confront them better are not equipped. Kudos to these vigilantes who still fight these kidnappers with their blood despite being ill-equipped. They are patriots.”
A community leader in Imilike, Boniface Eze, blamed the escalating insecurity in the LGA on the failure of the government to ban open grazing.
According to him, “Revelations of some of those released from captivity show that the masterminds are criminals who disguise themselves as herders. Their routes are those that cattle grazers follow.
“Our boundaries with neighbouring states are unchecked. Our police and military operatives don’t embark on forest combing. These kidnappers would capture their victims and make them trek for many nights before arriving at their camps to demand ransoms. During the day, they hide. At night, they move on.
“We are not safe. You see young boys who are not Nigerians moving through all the villages in Udenu, pretending to be buyers of condemned iron; some claim to be cutting human nails as a business, even where they have no prospects of customers.
“Others disguise themselves as polishers of shoes even in the remotest areas. They hide under this guise to master our routes.”
Dr Nnadozie Ogbonna is a retired Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Enugu. He is also a renowned farmer.
According to him, “These criminals use track roads. They circumvent checkpoints. They have established routes in thick forests. Military/police checkpoints are better in city centres. The solution is community policing, which is lacking due to negligence.”
Dr Chukwuma Okolie, a research economist, called for intelligence gathering through community stakeholders.
In his words, “Kinetic approaches are not enough. Despite security checkpoints in Enugu State, generally, cases of crimes are expanding. Even neighbourhood watch operatives are now stationed on highways while the hinterlands are left unguarded. Open grazing should be banned.
“Further, we need proper LG financial autonomy so that chairmen can make use of their security votes optimally. LG financial autonomy will also make LGAs richer, thus enabling them to sponsor community policing, install streetlights, and open up rural areas through road networks and electricity. These bandits don’t like developed areas.”
Recall that police operatives from Udenu Division, in synergy with Forest Guards and Neighbourhood Watch members, rescued two men from a forest at Amalla-Egazi on May 21, 2025. Amalla-Egazi is situated on the Enugu-Benue border.
The victims, according to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, had been kidnapped on May 16, 2025, in the Ezimo community.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Bitrus Giwa, reacting to the arrest, had commended the officers, community members, and security partners whose collaboration made the arrest possible and urged the public to continue supporting the police and other security agencies through useful information.
Expert’s View
Commandant Edwin Ugwuja is of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps. Comdt Ugwuja, who had led operations against insurgents in line with its duties, called for more incentives for community vigilantes. He also made a case for reviving some Igbo cultural ways of community security in an interview with our correspondent.
According to him, “Our people need to be sensitised on security tips. The perpetrators mostly carry out the act towards nightfall or at night to enable their covert movements, aided by darkness. People should, therefore, time their movements for security reasons.
“We should also return to our local methods of protection, which our forefathers used. If you like, call it juju. Before the advent of technologies, unorthodox means were adopted to ensure the security of lives and property. In the face of the current kidnapping cases, why can’t we resurrect those practices? So far, these bandits patronise sorcerers for fortification.”
He also called for effective local policing methods, adding, however, that community policing seems failing because of a lack of motivation.
In his words, “When vigilantes are motivated, they perform wonders. They work in synergy with our convention security operatives because they understand local routes. But they need training and incentives. Dedicated young men should be trained in handling light arms to be able to confront these criminals. The most important thing is to scare your enemies when danger looms.”
He urged governments at all levels to fund local vigilantes, adding that, “When the environment is not conducive due to insecurity, definitely the state economy will not thrive because per capita output would be low.”
He cited the case of Anambra State, where a bill was signed into law to regulate the excesses of fake native doctors who provide charms to criminals. “Native doctors encourage criminals by preparing amulets for them and assuring them that they are invincible,” he stated, adding that, “Whether the charms work is another matter, but the charms and hard drugs they consume give them the conviction that they are invincible. Such legislations could be domesticated in LGAs.”
On the Agro-Rangers launched by the NSCDC during the regime of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the intelligence officer said, “Agro-Rangers aimed at ensuring harmonious dealings between farmers and herders. That initiative would have solved this lacuna.
“The scheme does not operate maximally because of logistics. We implore the government to encourage that wing of the NSCDC. With it, Nigeria’s internal security will improve because safety begins in farms and bushes.”
He also called on the citizenry to trust security agencies by providing them with timely and credible information on security breaches.
Quoting him, “People should provide intelligence reports to security agencies. Operatives are not spirits. They rely on credible, actionable, and reliable reports. That is why we preach ‘If you see something, say something.’”
He further tasked governments with good governance. He said, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. The government should encourage the citizenry by initiating people-friendly economic policies, such as grants for business starters and loans for students and entrepreneurs. Education should also be compulsory and affordable.
“Then our leaders should eschew flamboyant exhibition of affluence because such unsettles the youth and creates anxiety among unprivileged citizenry.”
FEATURE: How Enugu’s Porous Borders Aid Kidnapping In Udenu is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
