I was traveling from Aba in Abia state back to PortHarcourt where I
reside after a marriage introduction ceremony of my youngest sister
Nene in my family house in Aba. I left the house at about 4pm that day
15/5/2010 with my small uncle Anayo and a cousin Maureen. Maureen
dropped somewhere in Aba while I proceeded to Portharcourt with Anayo.
We had barely traveled 11km when we met what appeared to be a routine
Police check point at Ihie. Normally we were flagged down for routine
check at about 5pm or even later. I was asked for my driving license
which I produced, I was asked to come down and open my boot and it was
at this point that I was told to enter a waiting Kia saloon car facing
right and at right angle to the main express road. Other vehicles were
stopped simultaneously for stop and search. An SUV that refused to
stop was sprayed with bullets with apparent missing of targets and
within about 5minutes the operation was over. About 2 vehicles carried
the victims, a Kia saloon and a Pathfinder SUV. Some of us were loaded
in the booths. After 5minutes drive into the village we were all blind
folded and now driven through untarred bush roads to an isolated
location which was a transit point. It took about extra 5minutes to
get there. You know things were happening fast and it was so easy to
lose tract of time. At this temporary site, we were thoroughly beaten
with the butts and barrels of the gun. I never knew pains could be
felt in quick succession after trauma to a particular point. When I
was hit at the back with the AK47 assault riffle, I felt the first
superficial pain and this was followed immediately by another crushing
pain much deeper. We were about 15 people, men, women and children.
After about 4hours, the women and children were driven back to the
road to find their ways home. We the men, about 9 in number now waited
for the next 1.5hours to be taken to their so-called police cell were
they kept captives. In the transit camp where we were kept, there is
one small house inhabited by a woman and some 2 or 3 children. The
woman had normal conversations with our captors and her small baby was
always crying. We left the temporary area in the same 2 vehicles and
by 10minutes we were in the cell. The place was surrounded by bushes
and harbored a roofed but un-completed block house with doors. A
standby generator was on and I had lifted the scarf over my eyes a
little long before we left the transit location. We were bundled into
a dark room wit one window and with 8 captives inside already. The
mode of capture of these previous 8 was targeted and not as random as
ours. Example the councilor was visited by them as a Police team in a
Police vehicle and informed that he was wanted in the police station
in connection with certain matters. He followed them willingly. We
could only sit or lie down with our eyes covered. We were 17 in
number in my cell. These include 3 Royal highnesses (The Eze of
Isuochi, The Eze of Omuma, and another very important Eze that I
couldn’t quite identify well because he was taken away shortly for
‘special treatment’ and remained there after I left), the councilor
representing a constituency in Omuma (hypertensive and diabetic), a
retired NNPC manger (diabetic), a retired CBN supervisor, a PTI
lecturer/pastor, 2 yahoo fraudsters, drivers, a tailor, and some
others. Our cell phones, money and every other belonging were taken
from us apart from our clothing. Food is never given to the captives
and water is dispensed at extreme discretion of the captors and by my
calculation this amounted to 500mls alternate daily. At a point the
councilor drank my water as I moved a little out of my position to
urinate. As it was close to midnight, the captors encouraged us to
pray and came in periodically to check on us. I must tell you that we
all prayed as never before till morning. We also continued to pray
like that every day. For me it was as true as daylight. The next day
was a Sunday and at about 9am, the captor in-charge of making contacts
for the captives came into our cell enquiring for people needing to
contact their people for early release. It followed the sequence from
interrogation about yourself and work to brutality and torture,
bargain for release and possible mortal injury following failure to
reach an amicable settlement. One of the captive’s phone lines was
always used for these contacts. The man in charge of the contact
making is called a name. I figure he is the 3rd in command in the
camp. He comes with aides who brutalize the captives mercilessly on
failure to agree to a stated bill which runs into millions of naira.
My initial bill was N10million even though it came down to N2m later.
I was now asked to talk to my people. I talked to my people and
returned the phone to the captors for negotiation with my people. The
first bidding amount from my people was N100,000 which earned me the
beating of my life in the hands his aides. I was hit with the gun
repeatedly and while pointed close to my neck with the gun corked and
uncorked severally and with several simultaneous kicks on the head and
body, I was asked to talk to my people. The beating was temporarily
halted when impressed it on my people of the need again to be
‘reasonable’ amidst my cry of pains. I was one of the youngest
captive. One can now imagine the impact of the brutality on an elderly
man and the sick people. On that Sunday the councilor was beaten blue
and black on failure to accept the N10million request fast. This was a
frail looking man with 10 children, a wife and with the whole extended
family as dependants. He collapsed with repeated hits on the head,
ribs, hands and every other parts of the body with the butt, barrel of
the gun and woods measuring 2inch x 2inch in thickness. He was
literally left helpless on the floor. He constantly bemoaned his fate
and wished to die in his house where his corpse will at-least be seen
and given a burial unlike the camp here where our captors will bury
him. He recovered a little by Monday but that never gave him any
reprieve as he continued to receive thorough beating like the rest of
us. Many of us all cried like babies. The councilor got his people to
sell his new car, his lands, and several other belongings and all
amounted to the sum of N450,000. He also sought to collect the month’s
contribution among 10 of his colleagues amounting to N500,000 which
never materialized by the time I left them. My brother it was pathetic
for the diabetic and the hypertensive. It is noteworthy that age was
no barrier to the brutality because we had 2 people who were above
70years of age, the Eze of Omuma and the Eze of Isuochi. The first
received thorough but a moderated level brutality which increased
sequentially with each daily failure to meet the captors’ demand while
the second, though brutalized, had some significant consideration
because he is 74years. His wife had to walk virtually the whole
streets begging for money and he also had to sell lands. The rest
received the same level of brutality and torture which increased with
every passing day. I tried to get close to the retired NNPC man who is
also a pastor because I felt he never understood the psychology of
this group that prefer to call themselves Abia State Militants. He
never agreed to any fixed amount and I felt he mistook the initial
moderation of the brutality on him as a spiritual effect. He is a
retired man and probably over 60yrs of age. However, he was soon to
understand that his judgment was wrong. The mercilessness of the boys
was un-paralleled because by the time I was leaving the camp on
Tuesday night there was a special torture session carried out
simultaneously by over 20 of the militants which I myself may have
found difficult to recover from despite my good physical fitness. The
captors had claimed that a cell phone had been stolen in the camp and
all the captives that refused to bargain ‘properly’ were responsible.
The captors appear not to have much interest on what they regard as
poor fools like drivers, gaunt looking people, mechanics, tailors etc.
Even though the ‘poor fools’ sometimes pay all their savings to the
captors, they tend to receive good considerations in terms of length
of stay only. I left the camp after the direct negotiation between my
people and my captors went through. We left the camp at about 10pm on
Tuesday. Those released that night were the Professor (Eze of
Isuochi), one pastor, one driver and my humble self. Three of us were
bundled into the booth of a Nissan Pathfinder SUV while Prof was given
the privilege of sitting down comfortably inside the car. As we left
the camp, one or two small boys were moving about close by and our
captors questioned the supposed strangers in a loud voice asking “who
be that” and the small boys (I say small boys from their voice on
reply) answered “I beg na indigenes”. The Eze of Omuma was released
a day earlier after paying the sum of one million two hundred thousand
naira. After about 5minutes into our journey to freedom, the SUV
stopped suddenly and refused to start again. After a few futile
attempts to start the car, the four armed captors disembarked and
called the camp for another vehicle. They identified their position as
opposite the Nigerian Police Station. In less than 4minutes a new
Toyota corolla arrived for us to continue our journey. I was asked to
enter the booth with the pastor/PTI lecturer. They discharged us at
Ihie junction and gave us transport money. We all walked bare footed
because even our shoes were collected. I received N500.00. They also
informed me that my vehicle was at the Police station. The Prof and
the released driver proceeded to Portharcourt while I proceeded to Aba
with the pastor. I arrived my family house at Aba at about 12:09am on
Wednesday to the jubilation of my parents and every other person in
the house and on the street. I am grateful to my relatives who
contributed immensely for my release. They include my parents, my
wife, my brother, my sisters, my cousin, my uncles abroad, my in-laws,
my mother’s uncle, my aunt, the pastors who prayed continually, my
local church, my genuine friends who acted promptly and several well
wishers.

I did not involve the police and it was the best decision. The
location of the camp is not hidden. The subdued villagers know them
and also know all their locations. Again the terrain of the area
consisting of thick bushes, well spaced houses and the bad nature of
the road all combine to favor the use of those locations by the
militants. The militants tend to wear military uniforms in the camp
and police uniforms with police bullet proof vest outside the camp for
their normal operations. They carry AK47 assault riffles and perform
drills each morning in the bush around the cell building- the
so-called camp. All the boys spoke the local dialect- asa/ngwa version
of igbo language. The chairman/leader of the group who authorized each
release has facial tribal marks, speaks same dialect. It may not
surprise me if he is a northerner and security personnel. It is
impossible that the security agents do not know their position. The
joy of release subdued all the pains. I also forgot I had not eaten
for 4days. I proceeded to Ihie Police station to collect my car as I
was informed by my captors as my car was too old for an operational
vehicle. I saw the vehicle at local police station at Ihie. I
fulfilled their formalities, made statements and informed them of the
release of Prof. In doing these I guarded my utterances because you
never know who the insiders were. I also spoke with the DPO of the
station. I also met some special police units who came on routine
patrol to the police station and narrated my ordeal to them. On this
visit to retrieve my car I also observed that the security agents
concentrated their presence on the express road leaving the entire
village empty. My brother even the people you are supposed to report
to are scared and appear helpless. You also cannot rule out their
support from politicians because of several boasts of installing
candidates come 2011. Information flow freely in the camp there; it is
unimaginable how the information comes without government/security
insiders. It also appeared they were planning relocation soon based on
the insiders’ requests; possibly because of impending raid by
government forces. They claim to pay some insiders-the normal Nigerian
settlement.

It is pathetic the level Abia state has degenerated to. It is a level
just slightly above those of animals and the bottom line is greed,
corruption, power drunkenness. I understand Imo-state is following
closely.

I became ill on Thursday- the cumulative effects of the ordeal. My
heart goes out to the innocent men still in captivity. I wonder if
they will make it alive. They include the retired NNPC manger/pastor
in Winners chapel (Yoruba), retired CBN supervisor (igbo), the
councilor (Omuma), The Eze who I could not identify well.

What if these kidnappers were ritualists; what would have been our
fate; it is all greed, corruption, power drunkenness. Until there is
good and committed leadership everything will continue to go downhill.



Dr Ohaka, MD.

WOW!!! Naija for show. Lawless at the highest order. Thank God you are safe at least.

I wonder how this can be happening in that aba road where you have check points at every pole, what a country we live in.

This is scary.May God protect us.

chei! chei!! Chei! Sorry, sorry abt that. Its an unfortunate and sympathetic story. They must surely get their rewards, directly or indirectly. Any money collected in such form can never be use to achieve a meaningful something. They must live to tell d stories when nemesis catches up with them,d captors,d polititians,d policemen aiding etc and on d last day,d judgement day ,they shal face God and answer according to their iniquities. Sinners wil never go unpunished!

Aba has become very dangerous.