A councillor in Kogi State has died in captivity after being abducted at gunpoint, her local government chairman has confirmed, amid troubling questions from her family over the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping.
Hon. Rosemary Adukwu, who represented Ogugu Ward III on the Olamaboro Legislative Council, was seized on 30 September while travelling to Onitsha market to restock her business.
According to family sources, she had boarded her usual commercial vehicle after confirming with the driver that the market would hold on 1 October. The vehicle was intercepted at a makeshift barricade near Oji River, on the boundary between Enugu and Anambra states.
Witnesses say the assailants dragged only Mrs Adukwu from the vehicle, leaving the other passengers to continue their journey unharmed — a detail her family says suggests she was specifically targeted.
Dr. Ameh Williams, Chairman of Olamaboro Local Government Area, announced her death in a statement on Friday, describing her as “our dear sister and colleague.” He said the death was confirmed on Thursday while she remained in the kidnappers’ custody.
The family, however, has raised concerns over the abductors’ failure to make contact. A family source said no ransom demand was received for nearly a week. It was only when security operatives tracked the victim’s mobile phone that a person who answered the call announced that the phone’s owner was dead.
The driver of the vehicle and the individual who answered the call have since been arrested and are assisting with investigations.
Deacon Samuel Ige Agada, President-General of the Ogugu District Union, condemned what he called the “kidnapping and brutal killing” of the councillor, describing it as barbaric.
“Hon. Adukwu was a dedicated grassroots leader, a hardworking businesswoman and a devoted mother and wife who was only striving to earn a living for her family,” he said. “This is a painful loss not only to her family and Ogugu Ward III, but to UBELE District, Ogugu Chiefdom, Olamaboro LGA and Kogi State at large.”
The spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, had not responded to enquiries at the time of going to press.
