An eyewitness, identified as Emmanuel, has narrated how he narrowly escaped being abducted alongside three travellers along the Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport Road in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state by gunmen on Wednesday.
Emmanuel told Punch that three occupants of a car used for public transport were dragged out and taken away. The gunmen blocked the left flank of the road, which is about a five-minute drive from the Port Harcourt International Airport Roundabout, and reportedly ambushed some vehicles.
The gunmen shot sporadically, reached for some of the occupants and whisked them away to an unknown destination.
In his narration, Emmanuel said one of the victims who attempted to resist the gunmen was shot before being taken away.
He said, “Not too far from the airport junction en route to Obiri Ikwerre flyover, I ran into an ambush with about eight to 10 other cars.
“We all saw the kidnappers shooting, and we reversed to race back to the airport junction, but we were surrounded from the back, front and all around.
“People jumped out of their cars to escape, and some were shot or apprehended.
“I jumped out to run, but there was nowhere to run to, and at that moment, the Lord showed me a car, spoke to me and said, ‘Enter under this car.’ I obeyed.
“How can a grown man enter fully under a Honda saloon car that’s not jacked up without his body being seen?
“But because I heard His voice, that became my saving grace. Three kidnappers walked past me, dragging a man, and one entered the car.
“I had to turn off the engine because the car was on.
“I’m alive today because of His mercies and covenant of protection over His children.
“My wife would have been a young widow if the bullets had hit me. My young children would have been fatherless, but God said No!”
The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the incident on Thursday, said the Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, had drafted tactical team commanders and Divisional Police Officers to the area in order to rescue the abductees.