Brave Igbo men or Abia youths show the way, attack terrorists, rescue kidnap victims

 

They beat me, threatened to kill me for speaking Igbo on phone—kidnapped widow

•I fought back determined not to die alone—Tricycle operator

UMUAHIA — In a rare display of bravery never witnessed before since terrorists have been attacking communities, abducting residents across the country, youths of Ohuhu community in Abia state mobilised and stormed the forest in pursuit of Fulani terrorists who had kidnapped two members of the community. After about four hours of confrontation, the terrorists were confused and had to flee, abandoning their victims.

Last month, terrorists abducted 39 pupils and students including toddlers of two schools in Oyo state and seven of their teachers. They are still being held in the bush by their abductors. Same day, another set of students were abducted in Borno and they are also still in captivity.

The story is the same all over the country. From Katsina to Zamfara, Borno, Niger, Kogi, Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Oyo, terrorists attacked communities, kidnapping residents many of whom died in custody after months of being unable to pay the huge ransom being demanded.

Thousands of kidnap victims are at present being held captive by these terrorists across the country but members of the various communities are helpless.

In Abia state however, courageous youths of Ohuhu community seemed to show the way for other communities as they decided to take the risk when they mobilised themselves to go after the Fulani terrorists to rescue the abducted members of their community; a male commercial tricycle operator and a widow.

Narrating their ordeal in the hands of their abductors, the rescued residents of the community said they never believed they would come out of the bush alive and commended the youths for their uncommon courage in confronting the terrorists in the forest.

For Mrs Onyinyechi Jonathan Ekechukwu, a widow, mother of four and grandmother of three from Umuawa Alocha in Ohuhu clan, Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, Wednesday, June 10, was supposed to be another ordinary day of hard work on the farm. Like any other day since the death of her husband, a school teacher, in 2015, the peasant farmer had gone to her farm in search of a means of sustaining her family and meeting the burden of raising their children, including a son currently studying at the University of Benin, Edo State.

But what began as a routine trip to harvest cassava soon turned into a terrifying journey into the hands of armed bandits. After harvesting cassava, the widow called a commercial tricycle operator from the same community, Mr Dennis Okechi, to transport the produce home. But unknown to them, danger was lurking along the pathway leading back to the village.

Her account:

“We were already riding home when we were suddenly stopped on the way by Fulani bandits who jumped out from the bush. They dragged us out of the Keke and marched us into the bush. We pleaded with them to have mercy on us but they threatened to kill us if we shouted.

“When the Keke operator kept shouting, they actually wanted to kill him. At that point, I decided to stop shouting and started praying silently in my heart. At one point, the boy attempted to escape but they stabbed him, blindfolded him and kept moving us from one place to another inside the bush.

“When they abducted us about 3:00 p.m, the six-man gang collected our phones and kept moving us through the thick forest until about 10:00 p.m. when they brought out our phones and asked us to call our people for ransom. They said we should pay N10 million

“So, when they gave me my phone, I called my husband’s brother’s wife and told her we were in captivity. The bandits immediately hit me and snatched the phone, threatening to kill me for speaking Igbo with the person I contacted. I told them I could not communicate fluently in English and had to speak Igbo. They kicked me again and I told them they would lose everything including the ransom if they killed me.

“While in captivity, I kept praying for divine intervention and protection against possible abuse or death. I kept praying to God to send confusion into their midst and not allow them hurt or abuse me. One of them kept telling me that he was the one restraining others from touching me. He said we should cooperate by telling our people to bring the ransom fast if we love our lives. Eventually we arrived at a place known as Ikeotuonye, a resting point usually used by farmers carrying heavy loads from their farms.

“They later took us away again and crossed a river. They ate my bread and Canmalt, then brought out garri and asked if we would eat but we declined the offer. Shortly afterwards, we started hearing gunshots followed by flashes of torchlight from our youths on a rescue mission. When their advancement became more intense and closer, the bandits suspected that they were being surrounded by the search party. Sensing danger, the bandits abandoned us, crossed the river and fled. It was at that point that we started shouting and the youths, who had stormed the forest in their numbers, quickly located us and rescued us,” she narrated.

Mrs Ekechukwu said her ordeal brought her face-to-face with the fear of never seeing her children again, especially her son at the University of Benin who had called her earlier that day while she was still harvesting cassava.

“ He just wanted to hear my voice. How would he cope with the news of my death if the bandits had carried out their threat to kill us? My thoughts went to how my son would feel when he was told the story and remembered our last conversation. “That thought made me pray harder to God so I could set my eyes on my son again. I thank God He answered my prayers,” she said emotionally.

Speaking further, the widow identified the abductors as Fulani bandits, saying they spoke Fulani language “which is different from ordinary Hausa.”

She lamented that herdsmen had repeatedly invaded farmlands in the community with their cattle, destroying crops without any consequence despite complaints by the locals. The widow then called on the government to take decisive action against open grazing and prevent armed herders and strangers from penetrating forests and farmlands in rural communities.

Mrs Ekechukwu also commended the youths of Ohuhu land for their uncommon courage and determination in confronting criminal elements, saying their swift response and resilience became the saving grace that brought them back alive.

“I Decided to Fight Back Rather Than Die Alone” — Keke Rider

Corroborating Mrs Ekechukwu’s narrative, the tricycle operator, Mr Dennis Okechi, who is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital in Umuahia, said he never believed he would come back alive considering what he suffered in the hands of their captors. He regretted that what began as an ordinary journey to help a woman convey harvested cassava from her farm turned into a terrifying encounter with death.

He said he was on his way home with her lone passenger when armed men suddenly emerged from the bush along the farm pathway and ordered them to stop. He said he thought at first that it was a prank and attempted to move away only to discover that other members of the armed group had surrounded them.

According to him, “they dragged us out of the Keke and warned us not to shout. They took us into the bush and said they were bandits. They said we must provide money before they would release us. They asked if I had a phone and I said ‘no’. One of them said they would kill me as I was not beneficial to them. Then at that point I told them my phone was inside my Keke. So, they went back and collected my phones, power bank and MP3.

“We continued the journey deeper into the thick forest moving from one location to the other with threats to kill us if we failed to cooperate or try to misbehave. At a point, believing I was about to be executed after our captors attempted to untie the cloth covering my face, I made a desperate dash for freedom.

A Desperate Battle for Survival

“Unfortunately however, I fell into a pit, with three of the bandits falling in after me. In what I can describe as a battle for survival, I wrestled with my attackers, snatched a stick from one of them and fought back. I knew they wanted to kill me, so I decided to fight. If I was going to die, I would not go down alone. My resistance infuriated the kidnappers and they attacked me with sticks and machetes, inflicting injuries on me before overpowering me and took me back to the spot they kept me earlier.

“The nightmare continued as the bandits demanded ransom. I was also given back my phone to contact my family members, informing them that ₦10 million was needed for us to regain our freedom. The woman who was abducted with me also faced her own ordeal. When the widow’s family offered ₦50,000, the kidnappers descended on her with severe beatings

“But unknown to the bandits, our youths had swiftly mobilised in pursuit of the kidnappers. As the abductors attempted to move us through the forest, they noticed unusual movements and flashes of light behind them. Moments later, gunshots rang out, throwing the kidnappers into confusion. Sensing that community rescuers were closing in, the bandits abandoned their captives and fled into the darkness”.

Bruised, traumatised and barely able to believe he had survived, Okechi said he heard his name being called by his brother. “It was my brother and the youths. They rescued us. I pointed to where the woman was sitting and they also brought her out,” he said.

The incident has heightened fears over the growing threat of kidnapping and armed attacks in rural communities around Umuahia, where residents now live with anxiety over their safety. For Okechi, however, survival remains nothing short of a miracle — a painful reminder of how an ordinary day on a familiar road almost became his last.

Community Youths Mobilize for a Dramatic Rescue

The dramatic rescue of Okechi and the widow did not only highlight the victims’ will to survive but also exposed the courage and swift mobilisation of youths of Umuawa Alocha Community who ventured into the forest in search of their abducted kinsmen.

President General of Umuawa Alocha, Hon. Chimex Uluocha, who described the incident as one of the most frightening experiences in the community, said the rescue operation was made possible by the uncommon bravery, patriotism and local knowledge of the youths.

It was a terrible incident. It was a quiet evening when, around 8 p.m, I began receiving distress calls from community members that one of our own had been kidnapped by suspected bandits,” Uluocha recounted.

According to him, the community immediately activated its local security network and reached out to conventional security agencies, including the Police and the Military, but the urgency of the situation demanded immediate action.

He said, “We called the Police, the Army and every security agency we could reach. But we understood that there were protocols, including risk assessment and planning, especially because the lives of the captives were involved. We could not afford to wait indefinitely because anything could have happened to the elderly woman and our brother.

“The youths, including some who are under 20 years of age, volunteered to enter the dangerous forest terrain with hunting dogs, torchlights and whatever tools they could find to aid the rescue mission. The courage of these young men was extraordinary. They did not wait to know whether they were going to come back safely. They only knew that their brothers were in danger and they had to act.”

Uluocha explained that a member of the Homeland Security outfit advised against a stealth approach because the abductors were armed and could easily harm the victims if they realised they were being surrounded.

We decided to make enough noise from different directions to confuse them and prevent them from taking any coordinated action. It was during this operation that gunshots started echoing from different directions,” he said.

The rescue operation, which lasted for over four hours in the thick forest, relied heavily on the rescuers listening carefully for the voices and movements of the captives.

“The forest is vast. We did not know whether to move left or right. We were searching every possible direction until, at a point, we heard Dennis’ voice and realised we were close. By the grace of God, we were able to rescue them,” he said.

A Call for Local Security Architecture

Although the operation forced the kidnappers to abandon their victims and flee, Uluocha disclosed that no suspect had been arrested as the primary objective of the rescue team was to save lives rather than engage the armed criminals.

“Our first concern was to rescue our people. We were not in a position to pursue armed men into the forest. The important thing is that both victims came back alive,” he stated.

The community leader confirmed that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) later visited the community that night, but noted that the actual rescue had already been carried out by local youths before the arrival of security operatives.

Reflecting on the incident, Uluocha called for a new security architecture that recognises and empowers local communities as first responders in rural security challenges.

“Security is everybody’s business, but the villagers are always the first responders because they understand their environment. Government must come down to the communities, support local security volunteers with logistics and create a sustainable system where those protecting their communities are properly motivated,” he said.

He warned that the growing spread of kidnapping from urban centres into farming communities should be treated as a serious threat, noting that the abductors appeared unfamiliar with the area and had likely entered the community solely for the operation.

“They were asking questions about neighbouring communities, which showed they did not know the terrain. They came here with a mission. If we had waited for negotiations over the ₦10 million ransom they demanded, perhaps the story would have been different”, he said.

For the people of Umuawa Alocha, the incident remains a painful reminder that insecurity has crept into the rural areas where residents were once considered safe, leaving a renewed call for stronger collaboration between communities and formal security agencies.

Police Confirm Incident, Say Efforts to Arrest Fleeing Bandits Underway

The Abia State Police Command had earlier in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Maureen Chinaka, confirmed the incident, saying that investigation and efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing bandits.

The statement read: ”The attention of the Command was drawn to the above incident, which occurred on 10/06/2026 at about 10:30hrs, involving the abduction of the victims by six suspected Fulani herdsmen while they were returning from the farm.

“Operatives of the Ohuhu Divisional Police Headquarters, in collaboration with vigilantes, forest guards, and youths of the community, immediately went into the bush to rescue the victims. On sighting the operatives, the suspected kidnappers fled, abandoning the victims.

“The victims were successfully rescued. One of the victims, who sustained injuries on the head and hand, was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Investigation is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.”

Abia Govt Dismisses Fear Over Rising Northern Population

When contacted, Special Adviser to Governor Alex Otti on Security Matters, Navy Commander MacDonald Ubah (rtd), dismissed concerns over the growing population of northern migrants in Abia State, insisting that the development is largely a reflection of the state’s improving economy and business environment

He said there was no cause for alarm, stressing that security agencies remained vigilant and proactive. According to him, many of the northern migrants are commercial motorcycle operators who are likely to relocate to other states once there is a ban on commercial motorcycle operations.

On the allegation of increasing activities of Fulani kidnappers in parts of the state, the Security Adviser acknowledged attempts by criminal elements to operate in forests and rural communities but maintained that security operatives in synergy with community vigilantes had consistently thwarted such plots.

Ubah assured residents that the state government would not relent in its efforts to safeguard lives and property, noting that several security successes have been recorded but are not in public space.

“We are alive to our responsibility as a state to ensure the security of lives and property. There is no going back on the governor’s position that no part of Abia soil will be ceded to criminal elements”, he said

Culled from Vanguard