The Ebonyi Police Command has revealed the identities of two Chinese kidnapped at a road construction site in Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state.
ASP Loveth Odah, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, that the victims are Messrs Sun Zhi Xim and Wang Qinghu, employees of Tonyi Chinese Group of Companies.
“The victims were kidnapped at about 3:30pm on April 24 and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ohaozara informed the state Commissioner of Police (CP) of the abduction from the construction site.
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“They were abducted by a gang of masked armed men and the CP led a team comprising of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (operations) and other tactical personnel.
“We went to the scene and discovered that it was a vulnerable construction site, located inside a thick forest without any form of security; whether police or local vigilante.
“This forest is situated near Ivo River at a boundary between Enugu and Ebonyi as we thoroughly combed the area to trace the kidnappers and possibly rescue the victims.
“We however recorded no results; but our tactical team had been reinforced in the area to track the kidnappers.
“We urge the public to give us information that would lead to the rescue of the kidnapped Chinese unharmed,” she said.
The PPRO advised members of the public especially expatriates not to reside or operate in vulnerable areas where security is not guaranteed.
“We interacted with the workers of the company and its Site Manager, a Chinese, and he told us that they have been in the area for five months without any security threat.
“This according to him, made them not to bother seeking police or any form of security protection and such proclamation is disappointing and unfortunate,” she said.
She noted that police team was led to the scene by Mr Enekwachi Akpa, the state governor’s aide who is the supervisor of the road project.
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“He told the CP that it was the period he was passing the are that the kidnappers abducted the victims and bullets from their guns hit his vehicle.
“We discovered that since the bullets could not perpetrate his vehicle, they were from locally made guns as Akpa manoeuvred and escaped from the scene.
“He told us that he was not wounded as being speculated and that the road project is being executed by the state government.
“Expatriates should know that if they are loose with security in their respective countries they should not do so while in Nigeria,” she said.
Odah said that the kidnappers have not communicated with anyone on their demands. (NAN)
