Gunmen kidnap Delta monarch

Gunmen on Sunday kidnapped a monarch, Sunday Olisemokwu, the paramount ruler of Ogodor community in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the monarch, who was traveling with four of his relatives in a private car, was attacked by the armed men, who mounted a road block on the Onitcha-Olona/Ezi road at about 4.25 pm.

A cousin of the monarch, Sunday Ifeajika, who survived the attack with machete cuts, and currently on admission at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, said the hoodlums were armed with guns and machetes.

“We were traveling along the lonely Onitcha-Olona/Ezi road when we ran into the armed men, dressed in Fulani attire, about seven in number, all armed with dane guns, sticks and machetes.

“They demanded money and phones from us, but we told them we have no money on us. They spoke in Arabic language and the next thing, they descended on us with machetes.

“They used their machetes on three of us, cutting us all over our bodies. They spared the only woman with us and thereafter, took the monarch into the bush,” Mr Ifeajika said.

He said after the attack, they (victims) sought help from some motorists plying the route, who took them to the Olona Police Station, where they lodged a formal complaint before the police took them to the FMC, Asaba.

When contacted, Delta Police Command spokesperson, Andrew Aniamaka, a deputy superintendent of police, who confirmed the attack and abduction of the monarch, said the police were working round the clock to secure the release of the monarch.

“As I speak with you, the police have deployed operatives to track down the culprits, apprehend them and secure the release of the monarch unhurt,” Mr Aniamaka said.

(NAN)