The Editor of All Facts Newspaper, a local tabloid in Umuahia, Pastor Chucks Onuoha, has been kidnapped in his village house at Umungasi Ohuhu in Umuahia North local government, Abia state.
The news was made known to newsmen today, Wednesday in Umuahia, by the Managing Editor the newspaper, Mr. Emenike Eroegbu.
Narrating what happened to the State Chairman Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Comrade Victor Ndukwe, who paid a condolence visit to the family of the kidnap victim with members of the Union, Mrs Udodirim Onouha said that the kidnappers who she said were three boys, scaled the fence house and came into their parlour, where they were resting around 9.45pm on Tuesday night and pointed a gun at him.
Continuing the narration, she said the kidnappers asked his husband to stand up, picked his two phones and his ATM card and ordered him to move into his car and then they drove away with his car.
Asked whether the kidnappers have contacted the family, she said yes, adding that they are demanding for a ransom of ten million naira.
She said the kidnappers warned her not to report the matter to the police if she wants to see her husband back alive.
She said that she pleaded with them, that her husband is journalist managing to survive.
“When they pressed for the money or they will kill him, out of fear, I offered to pay two hundred thousand naira. They said I am joking. They said that the last they will collect is two million naira,” she said.
The Abia state NUJ Chairman called for calm, and said that the Union is standing by the family in their moment of trouble.
They equally appealled to the kidnappers to leave practising journalists alone as they have nothing to offer in terms of money.
When contacted, the Abia State Police public relations officer, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, said that he heard the kidnapped story, but no official report has been made to the police by the family.
Pastor Chucks Onuoha is an ordained minister in the Mountain of Fire Ministry.
In a related development, Abia state, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), yesterday embarked on strike, closing all public and private hospital in Abia state, demanding for the release of their member, Professor Uwadinachi Iweha, who has spent seven days in the kidnappers’ den.
They said that Abia state is no longer safe for their members to work in.