The Enugu State Government, on Wednesday, demolished properties used by kidnappers for holding their victims on the outskirts of Enugu, the state capital.
The operation targeted an unfinished storey building with an underground tunnel at Nkwubor Layout in Emene Nike, where a significant cache of arms and ammunition was found.
Additionally, a large farm in Ogbeke Nike, featuring poultry, piggery, and a plantain plantation, was also destroyed.
At the Nkwubor Nike site, security operatives recovered 17 firearms, including eight AK47 rifles, seven pump-action rifles, and two shotguns. Another two AK47 rifles were found at the Ogbeke Nike farm.
The authorities also dismantled shrines, charms, and mini Indian hemp farms.
The demolitions followed months of covert investigations into the kidnappers’ activities. Security forces raided the hideouts, uncovered these startling findings, and rescued several victims after engaging in gun battles with the criminals.
In line with Governor Peter Mbah’s administration’s commitment to eradicating crime, the Enugu State Government had previously announced its intention to demolish properties used for criminal activities, as stipulated in Section 315 of the Criminal Code (Second Amendment) Law Cap. 30, Laws of Enugu State.
This section, which had been inactive since 2016, mandates that any building used for criminal purposes must be demolished or forfeited to the state.
Uche Anya, Executive Chairman of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA), confirmed that the demolitions were conducted in accordance with the law, emphasizing that there is no refuge for criminals in the state.
“This government is determined to exterminate all manner of criminality. So, people were kidnapped and brought here, including the woman that was kidnapped near the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
“You can see the trouble we took to get here today. So, this has been ongoing. But after today, this place will never exist again in the manner you met it. That is why we are here to send a strong signal and we are also warning property owners not to come and tell us that they are in South Africa, China or Germany and do not know what is happening. Once your property or commercial entity is used for kidnapping or anything involving grievous bodily harm or threat, including attempted murder, we will come after you and your property,” he stated.
At Nkwubor, Emene, Nike, Anya told reporters, “The activities here were even more gruesome. You have seen the underground cell they built and covered it with a manhole. Ordinarily you will think nothing is happening there, but the eagle eye of the security in the course of doing their work detected that something was amiss, only to discover that there’s an underground where human beings are kept and we found their armoury, many AK47 riffles and other crazy equipments that no civilian is entitled to hold. But, today, it is has to go down as directed by the governor in accordance with the Laws of Enugu State,” he said.
The ECTDA Chairman said the government would in addition take over the properties and put them to good use, noting that the demolition is an ongoing process as more structures were already marked to go down.
“So, all these places will be taken over by the government and we can turn it into a children playground, garden, park or primary health care. But whoever thought he or she owned this place before this hour will no longer touch his or her foot here forever.
“Enugu State has an anti-kidnapping law, but beside that, the Criminal Code covers that whatever that deprives you of your liberty and leads to death is what the government cannot condone,” he concluded.