Over 80 elderly men and women from Ndukwe village in Amasiri, Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, on Thursday, gathered at the Nkwegu Military Cantonment to demand the immediate release of two of their sons allegedly detained by soldiers.
The detained individuals—Lawrence Ikpe, Chairman of the Uke Ndukwe Ruling Council, and Onwuamaeze Caleb Uche, the Ndukwe Youth Leader—were reportedly arrested following a recent security meeting held in Afikpo LGA.
Eyewitnesses at the military base described scenes of deep emotion as the elderly women cried and rolled on the ground, appealing for their sons’ release.
Sources claim that the arrests were linked to an ongoing crisis in Edda LGA, where five individuals from Ndukwe were allegedly kidnapped and murdered while clearing grass at a local primary school ahead of school reopening.
Speaking to reporters, community elder Chief Simon Eze Idam expressed concern over what he described as unjust detainment. “Instead of arresting those from Edda suspected of abducting and killing our people, soldiers arrested our sons who were only attending a peace meeting,” he said. “We’ve spent over one million naira trying to find them.”
He added, “The entire Ndukwe autonomous community is here today to plead for the release of our sons arrested on March 10, 2025. Despite repeated appeals and a directive by His Excellency, Governor Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, they remain in detention.”
The elders lamented that the Commandant was unavailable during their visit, reportedly accompanying state officials to Effium community for a land demarcation exercise aimed at resolving a separate crisis.
“We are not here to fight. We simply want justice and the safe return of our sons,” Chief Idam stressed.
Efforts to reach the Commandant for comments proved unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
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