Business man abducted in Imo State

Suspected gun men have kidnapped a Lagos-based businessman, Benedict Kpaduwa,  at his hometown in Anara, in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State.
Kpaduwa was a former Principal Manager, Finance and Accounts, at the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

Reports have it that the victim was abducted around 9am on the premises of his firm, Mekcyn Investment.

Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that the armed men were  in a Hummer bus.

They reportedly trailed Kpaduwa to the premises of the firm and dragged him out of his Toyota Corolla after shooting repeatedly into the air to scare away his workers and passersby.

The victim, our correspondent gathered, had just returned home from Lagos when the incident happened.

A source in the village, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kpaduwa was kidnapped in the presence of his workers, who scampered to safety.

The source said the villagers had reported the incident at the Anara Police Division at Idem, adding that the businessman was kidnapped close to his home.

“The gunmen shot repeatedly into the air. They went straight to their target and dragged him from his Toyota Corolla into their Hummer bus. They ordered a pastor of a nearby church, who came out on hearing gunshots, to lie down,” he said.

Another resident, who did not want to be identified, said he heard the sound of gunshots and ran to safety, only to be told afterwards that the 55-year-old businessman had been abducted.

A source in the village told our correspondent that the kidnappers had yet to contact the victim’s family.

Text messages sent to the mobile phone of the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Andrew Enwerem, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, had yet to be replied to as of the time of filing this report.