Police rescue kidnapped UNTH security man, nurse still missing

Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command have rescued a security man attached to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozalla, who was reportedly kidnapped on Tuesday with a staff nurse.

This was contained in a statement the command issued on Wednesday, adding that a manhunt to arrest perpetrators and rescue the staff nurse had been launched.

Some gunmen believed to be kidnappers were reported to have invaded the federal hospital on Tuesday and allegedly abducted a female staff and a security man.

In a video that had gone viral in the state, an SUV allegedly belonging to the abducted woman nurse was seen abandoned on the road riddled with bullets.

Although the hospital was silent over the incident, some staff of the hospital who spoke to some reporters on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident.

“This is so sad; we are not safe at all in this hospital; everywhere is porous,” lamented one of the staff.

However, in a statement on Wednesday, the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident and said that the police operatives had rescued the security man.

Ndukwe said that the commissioner of police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, had directed the rescue of the nurse.

The statement partly read: “The security man, alleged to have been abducted alongside a female nurse by armed hoodlums in the morning hours of March 12, 2024, at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla in Nkanu West Local Government Area, has been rescued by Police Operatives.

“He was rescued at Ishi-Ozalla in the same local government area at about 11.45 pm on the same date of the incident, following the intense operations immediately launched to rescue the victims and apprehend the assailants.

“Consequently, the Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, psc (+), has ordered the Police Operatives and the complementary teams from the Neighborhood Watch Group, Forest Guards, and Local Vigilantes to ensure that everything is done to rescue the female nurse and arrest the hoodlums.

“Meanwhile, members of the public, particularly residents of the Ituku-Ozalla community and environs, have been enjoined to report any suspected individuals found within their residential areas or in the forest, by calling 08099854883 or emailing [email protected].”