A factional youth leader of the apex socio-cultural Igbo organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, has allegedly been kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
It was gathered that Igboayaka was taken by his abductors in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Saturday evening.
However, several quarters believe that Igboayaka was rather arrested by police operatives following a petition written against him by an unidentified person(s) or groups.
But in a swift reaction, the spokesperson of the Imo State Police Command, DSP Henry Okoye, disclosed that Igboayaka was neither arrested nor in the custody of the police.
He also stated that the command has initiated an investigation into the incident and appealed to the public to assist the police with useful information that could lead to discovering the whereabouts of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo youth leader and facilitating his possible rescue.
Okoye, in a brief statement issued following the incident, said, “The Imo State Police Command has initiated an investigation to determine the whereabouts of the President of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), Comrade Igboayaka.
“In the meantime, the command has confirmed that he has not been arrested. Anyone with information is urged to promptly notify the police.”
Meanwhile, a group, the Igbo National Council, through its President, Chilos Godsent, urged the police to take immediate action to determine the identity of the gunmen who allegedly whisked Igboayaka away.
Godsent said, “On Saturday, 8th February 2025, at about 7:00 pm, we received the sad news that gunmen dressed in black and numbering up to seven arrived in a Sienna and a Lexus SUV and forcefully arrested the President of the Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, in a Neo-Mafia Gestapo manner at Works Layout, Owerri, Imo State.
“Since this sad news, attempts by teeming members of the Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), family members, friends, and associates to reach him through his mobile lines to ascertain his whereabouts have failed because all his mobile lines were switched off immediately after the ugly incident took place.
“On the foregoing, the Igbo National Council wishes to call on the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, Imo State Command, to immediately take action to determine the identity of the gunmen that forcefully took the President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, captive on the evening of Saturday, 8th February 2025, in Owerri Metropolis and to make their findings public.
“The Igbo National Council has noticed that his followers, family, friends, and associates have been thrown into confusion since the ugly incident and would like to know his whereabouts as soon as possible.”