CP Kanayo Uzuegbu of Enugu State
The Police Command in Enugu State has denounced media report alleging that 11 people were kidnapped at the Amechi-Idodo area of the Enugu/Abakaliki Expressway on Wednesday.
The command described the report as misleading, mischievous and aimed at creating panic.
The Command’s Spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Enugu.
Ndukwe said that the stance given in an online publication remained a total distortion of facts surrounding the incident of an attempted abduction along the said road, on July 16, 2024, around 6p.m.
Ndukwe said that contrary to the misleading report, a Joint Security team, upon receipt of a distress call on the incident, moved to the Enugu/Ebonyi States border point along the Enugu/Abakaliki Expressway, on the said date and time.
“Hence, they rescued 13 occupants of a Nissan commercial bus. However, three others, who scampered into nearby bushes upon the attack, are yet-to-be located,” he said.
The command spokesman said that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Kanayo Uzuegbu, had ordered the sustenance of ongoing operations to locate and rescue the three missing victims and also hunt down the assailants.
Ndukwe said that the commissioner reassured commitment of the command to sustain collaborative efforts with internal and neigbouring States’ security forces to ensure watertight security on major highways and borders.
“The commissioner further cautions reporters and publishers to always verify their facts before going to press,” he said .
This, he said, was to avoid misleading reports and creating panic in the minds of unsuspecting members of the public,” he added.