Forty-year-old Monday Eze is one of the forest guards deployed in Enugu East district. He said he has penetrated most of the dreaded forests where suspected herdsmen kidnappers are alleged to be domiciled in Enugu state.
One such forest is the Eke-Egede-Ezeagu forest jungle that spans about 15 kilometers; it is called Ofia-Akwu and has remained a death zone, with several lives lost in the past in the hands of alleged Fulani herdsmen. It is located between the Udi north communities of Eke, Egede, Affa, Oghe in Ezeagu.
There is also the Ajali forest notorious for habouring herdsmen that breed their cows with the Ajali stream. It was in this area that soldiers allegedly killed neighborhood watchmen who opposed the soldiers for treating suspected Fulani kidnappers with kid gloves. This was during the Buhari administration when herdsmen appeared protected.
The other Den of Kidnappers is between the same Udi north communities of Abor, Awhum, Umulumgbe, Nike in Enugu East local government, up to Ekwegbe, Ukehe and Opi communities of Igboetiti and Nsukka local government areas. The jungle is called Agu-Ekwegbe, joining the Ojebogene communities of Udi.
At the East side of the new Enugu-Ugwogo-Opi Nsukka road is another forest of Agu Opi, Eha-Alumona, Mbu and Neke deep forests. It continued from Nike communities to Owoh, Ubahu and Amankanu communities. It also connects to Isi-uzo communities.
Yet another den of the kidnappers is between Udi-Ozalla and Agwu communities. These areas have been notorious routes and dens of kidnappers. From there, they sometimes wandered far through the bush tracts before ransoms would be demanded.
Eze, however, said some of their efforts to nail the kidnappers have not yielded results.
“For instance, I was among those taken to Egede when those school children of St Paul’s College Eke were attacked. A traditional ruler was also kidnapped on the same day. We entered that forest. You know there are many cashew trees there. We went far, hid under those trees and waited to see if we could see or hear their sound but we did not,” Eze said.
But the Aljazeera media report in the forest of Lokpa-Umunochi areas in Abia state exhibited human carcasses killed or left to die inside such forests occupied by the herdsmen kidnappers. Those who were kidnapped and came back alive have gory stories of the jungle. The Methodist prelate, Samuel Kanu-Uche had given a bit of the graphic picture of how he survived his kidnap in 2022.
There is the allegation that the criminal kidnappers are shielded by the nomadic cattle breeders. But the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, recently said that it has made arrangements to ensure that its men are not infiltrated by criminals in the guise of cattle breeders in the southeast.
The National Deputy Director General of MACBAN, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, who said this in Enugu, shortly after a critical meeting of Miyetti Allah leaders in neighboring states of Kogi, Benue, Anambra and other states in the southeast states said that as the dry season comes, pastoralists migrate to green areas in the southern Nigeria in search of greener pastures for their herds; but enjoined his people to be conscious of their environment and avoid infiltration by marauders who parade themselves as herdsmen and attract bad names to the real cattle breeders.
One of the most notorious forests of the kidnappers is the Eke-Egede-Affa forests where a lot of kidnappings have taken place, including the kidnap and killing of a Catholic Priest in 2021 and the recent killing and attack of secondary school students. Traditional rulers and businessmen from those areas have been kidnapped many times along the road. Only a few get reported in the media.
Details later…
