A civil society organisation, the Office of the Citizens, Saturday, berated the Nigeria Police, Enugu State Command, for allegedly threatening citizens who are raising alarm over the frequent kidnapping for ransom along Nsukka-Opi-Ugwuogo-Enugu road in Enugu State.
The state command had through its spokesman, SP Daniel Ndukwe, a few days ago, threatened to arrest some individuals for allegedly reporting unverified kidnap cases along the road. Ndukwe said such would create unnecessary tension, adding that the route was highly policed. He also debunked reports of a kidnap video that went viral within the week.
The Convener, Office of the Citizens, Comrade Onyebuchi Igboke, in a release, said instead of the police conducting a thorough investigation into such reports, the force was rather attempting to silence the whistleblowers.
Igboke urged the police command to “encourage the bravery of these individuals who are speaking out against injustice”, advising that the force should “maintain professionalism to avoid emotional responses that compromise their conduct”.
Comrade Igboke demanded immediate investigations and interventions to rescue the abducted victims, provision of rapid response numbers to ensure effective emergency responses, and protection of whistleblowers to encourage citizens’ participation in governance.
Meanwhile, an unspecified number of persons were Friday afternoon kidnapped on the Opi axis of the road.
THE WHISTLER saw men of the police rapid squad and neighbourhood watch operatives at the scene of the kidnap, close to a military checkpoint currently being used by police operatives, as well as a HighLander believed to belong to one of the abducted persons.
