Gunmen set houses ablaze after kidnapping monarch’s wife in Imo

There was pandemonium on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, in the Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, as some yet-to-be-identified gunmen kidnapped the wife of the traditional ruler of the Amuro autonomous community, Ugoeze Umugborogu.

After abducting the monarch’s wife, the assailants were said to have proceeded to burn the houses of the chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Labour Party in Amuro ward.

It was gathered that this incident had caused panic among residents of the community, as many of them took to their heels when the gunmen were invading homes.

A community source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the attackers set the houses ablaze as soon as they arrived at the compounds.

“Ugoeze Umugborogu, the wife of the late king of Amuro autonomous community, has been kidnapped.

“After kidnapping the woman, they went to the house of the Labour Party chairman in Amuro ward, Ifediora Umugborogu and razed it. The man and his family were away when they struck.

“They equally razed the house of the APC chairman in the ward. This is going out of hand. The government should come to our rescue,” the source added.

This writer understands that in recent times, Okigwe has become a hotbed for chaos and criminal activities.

Just on Tuesday, February 21, some gunmen razed five houses in the Amagu Ihube community of the Okigwe local government area.

The burnt houses included -the houses of the state commissioner for youths and sports, Emeka Okoronkwo, a former Dean of the Law Faculty of the Imo State University, Nnamdi Obiaraeri, a retired Director of State Security Service (SSS), Nnaemeka Ngwu and two others.