By TONY EDIKE
ENUGU—THE anti-kidnap squad of Enugu State Police Command has rescued a 96-year-old Mrs. Theresa Okafor, who was abducted from her Imezi Owa village in Ezeagu local government area of Enugu State last Wednesday.

The victim, who is the mother of a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, Dr. Anthony Okafor, was abducted and held hostage in a forest at Ezema village in Imezi Owa community.

The police said yesterday that the operatives of the anti-kidnap squad led by its Commander, Superintendent Stephen Osaghae, rescued the victim through painstaking effort.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the rescue of the woman, said she regained her freedom at midnight on Monday following a tip-off to the security operatives.

”The security operatives who acted on information, were able to record success as they stormed the thick forest located in a village called Ezema in Imezi Owa, Ezeagu axis of Enugu State where the victim was held hostage.

The kidnappers on noticing the presence of the security operatives immediately opened fire on them and in the ensuing gun duel, one of the hoodlums sustained severe injuries while another died at the spot and two others escaped into the thick forest with severe bullet wounds,” he said.

The police spokesman appealed to members of the public, particularly medical doctors in the state to watch out for people with bullet wounds who might come to their hospital for treatment to promptly alert security agencies.

He said the arrested hoodlum was already helping the police in their investigations.

… stop rights groups, PDP from holding rallies
By VINCENT UJUMADU

AWKA— IT was a bad day for a coalition of human rights organisations and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Anambra State yesterday as stern –looking policemen stopped their planned rallies to mark this year’s Democracy Day in the state.

While the human right organisations led by the Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, was to hold their rally at the Emmaus House, having paid for the use of the venue, the PDP invited stakeholders in the state, including Governor Peter Obi and former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme to address the rally.

However, hundreds of people who traveled to Awka for the two events were not allowed into the venues as policemen and State Security Service, SSS, told them that an order from above directed that the rallies should not take place.

Anambra State chairman of CLO, Comrade Allysius Attah who addressed newsmen on the development, said they were surprised that such a thing could take place on a day Nigerians were celebrating democracy day.

He said: “There was a siege of armed policemen at the venue as if we were terrorists and all the people who wanted to participate at the rally were turned back. We paid for a space at Emmaus House to hold an open forum on the need for the state government to conduct local government election.

When we came to the venue, we saw a truck load of policemen and SSS and the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Central Police Station, CPS, Awka told us that the commissioner of police in the state directed that the forum should not hold”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/police-rescue-96-yr-old-woman-from-suspected-kidnappers-in-enugu/