The Enugu State Government has demolished properties used by kidnappers for detaining their victims in the outskirts of Enugu, the state capital.
Among the properties were an uncompleted storey-building with an underground tunnel at Nkwubor Layout in Emene Nike, where a large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered, and a large farm housing a poultry, piggery, and plantain plantation at Ogbeke Nike, all in Enugu East LGA.
At Nkwubor Nike, 17 firearms were recovered, including eight AK47 rifles, seven pump action rifles, and two short guns, while two AK47 rifles were retrieved at the Ogbeke Nike farm. Shrines, charms, and mini-Indian hemp farms were also destroyed.
Security operatives had, following months of discreet investigation on the activities of the kidnappers, stormed the two hideouts, where they made the startling discoveries and rescued some victims after gun duels with the criminals.
It is recalled that the Enugu State Government, in line with the Governor Peter Mbah Administration’s determination to eradicate crime and criminality in the state, announced its readiness to demolish properties being used for kidnapping purposes in accordance with Section 315 of the Criminal Code (Second Amendment) Law Cap. 30, Laws of Enugu State.
The said Section 315, which had been redundant since 2016 when it was so amended, provides, “If the building or structure owned by the offender or any other person, who knows or ought to reasonably know that the building or structure is so being used for that purpose, the building or structure shall be demolished or forfeited to the State Government.”
Speaking to newsmen at the criminal hideout at Agu Ogbeke, Nike, Chairman of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, Uche Anya, said the demolitions complied with the law as directed by the government, stressing that criminals have no hiding place in the state.
“This government is determined to exterminate all manner of criminality. So, people were kidnapped and brought here, including the woman who was abducted near the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
“You can see the trouble we took to get here today. So, this has been ongoing. But after today, this place will never exist again in the manner you met it. That is why we are here to send a strong signal, and we are also warning property owners not to come and tell us that they are in South Africa, China or Germany and do not know what is happening. Once your property or commercial entity is used for kidnapping or anything involving grievous bodily harm or threat, including attempted murder, we will come after you and your property,” he stated.
At Nkwubor, Emene, Nike, and Anya told reporters, “The activities here were even more gruesome. You have seen the underground cell they built and covered it with a manhole. Ordinarily, you will think nothing is happening there. Still, during their work, the security guard’s eagle eye detected something was amiss, only to discover an underground area where human beings are kept. We found their armoury, many AK47 rifles and other crazy equipment that no civilian is entitled to hold. But, today, it has to go down as directed by the governor by the Laws of Enugu State,” he said.
The ECTDA Chairman said the government would take over the properties and put them to good use, noting that the demolition is an ongoing process as more structures were already marked to go down.
“So, the government will take over all these places, and we can turn it into a children’s playground, garden, park or primary health care. But whoever thought he or she owned this place before this hour will no longer touch his or her foot here forever.
“Enugu State has an anti-kidnapping law, but besides that, the Criminal Code covers that whatever deprives you of your liberty and leads to death is what the government cannot condone,” he concluded.
