From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
International Press Centre (IPC) has demanded the immediate release of a journalist with Punch Newspapers, Okechukwu Nnodim, who was abducted by gunmen at his residence in Abuja at about 11pm last Wednesday.
Demanding Nnodim’s immediate release, IPC in a statement signed by its Programme Officer/Safety Desk Officer, Melody Lawal, asked the security agencies to do all they could to ensure that Nnodim is freed without being harmed in any way.
The statement quoted IPC’s Executive Director, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, as lamenting the spate of insecurity in the country, saying that journalists have become easy targets.
“The spate of insecurity in the country should be of serious concern to all. It is very disturbing that journalists and media professionals have also become easy targets,” the statement quoted Arogundade as saying.
In various media reports, Nnodim’s wife, Oluchi, narrated that her husband was working on his laptop when five strange men scaled the fence and entered their compound while ordering them to open the door.
She was also quoted as saying that the gunmen fired several shots at the windows and subsequently pulled down the burglary proof after which they forced open the front door and took Nnodim away.