9 Taraba Fishermen Abducted In Anambra State

9 Taraba Fishermen Abducted In Anambra State

The killing of four fishermen from Ibbi local government in Taraba State and the kidnapping of nine more from Osama village in Ogbolu local government area

in Anambra state by individuals who may be members of the illegal Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have aroused growing concern.

The nine kidnapped people were alleged to be kept captive by the same group that killed the four victims while traveling from Ibbi town in Taraba State to the River Niger for their yearly fishing trip.

According to relatives of the victims, the fishermen left Ibbi on Monday in a 24-seater bus with their family members,

but were intercepted by IPOB militants in Anambra State during the proscribed group’s sit-at-home order.

Sule Hussein, a relative of one of the nine hostages, revealed in a phone conversation that “Four of the fishermen were killed at the spot,

nine of them were taken hostage last Monday, and we received calls from some people claiming to be IPOB members demanding ransom for the release of the nine fishermen.”

“Five days after they were carried into the forest in a remote area of Anambra State, we have not heard from any of them.

We have received calls from certain persons requesting that we pay a ransom, but we have declined because they won’t let us communicate with any of the people who are being detained”.

“What worries us the most is whether they are dead or alive. All of the people being held have wives and kids, so that is the response we are

hoping for as we urge the Taraba State Government to take appropriate action about the issue”, Hussein said.

Agbu Kefas, the governor of Taraba state, through his Special Adviser on Media and Digital Communications,

Mr Emmanuel Bello said that the state government was aware of the event and was taking steps to ensure that the nine fishermen who are still alive be rescued.