Obinna Odogwu, Abakaliki
Two Chinese workers kidnapped by suspected herdsmen at a construction site at Ivo River, at the boundary area between Ohaozara and Ivo Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State, have been rescued by the police.
This was disclosed by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Loveth Odah, a Deputy Superintendent of Police. She said that the victims were rescued following pressure mounted on the kidnappers by the officers of the state command.
The victims, whose names were given as Sun Zhixin and Wang Quing Hu, were kidnapped at about 3:30pm last Wednesday and where taken away by the men said to be wearing face masks.
The Chinese nationals, both males, were said to be working with Tongyi Construction Company, which was said to be handling the construction works on the road which leads to Ogwu and Okpanku communities in Ivo LGA in Ebonyi and Aninri LGA in Enugu States, respectively.
The victims, Daily Sun gathered, were working on the base of the bridge at Ivo River when the armed kidnappers stormed the area and forced the workers out of the pit.
According to the other workers at the construction site who witnessed the incident, the criminals first held three persons, one of who was a Nigerian, but later released him when he reportedly spoke in Hausa language begging his captors not to kill him.
They said that they later took the Chinese away to an unknown destination after giving the third victim his phone back.
But speaking on the rescue mission carried out by the police, Odah said that the kidnappers abandoned their captives in the forest and ran away due to intense pressure mounted on them by the police.
Odah said: “The Chinese nationals that were kidnapped on the 24th of April, 2019 were abandoned by the kidnappers and rescued by the police operatives due to the pressure mounted on the kidnappers.
“According to the victims, they said that they felt that they were not so far from the place they were kidnapped but due to the thickness of the forest, they could not see it.
“Every time they felt police presence around them, the kidnappers would shift them to another place. Like I told you, the place is a thick forest. It’s the river between Ivo Local Government Area and Uburu community; it’s also the boundary between Aninri area of Enugu State and Ebonyi State,” the police spokeswoman stated.
The PPRO said that efforts were being made by the police to track down the fleeing criminals and bring them to book.