Nnamdi is still nursing his injuries after the attack
By Tony Adibe
The gunmen, numbering over 10, scaled the perimeter fence and grabbed the security man, macheted him on his head, and injured him very close to his left eye, before binding and gagging him. They quickly ransacked the office and stole many valuables, including raw cash worth thousands of Naira, NewsBits was reliably informed.
The incident occurred as the ‘Ije: Ego’ Oil and Gas Station, newly built at Dodo Layout in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State, was attacked by unknown gunmen suspected to be armed robbers on Thursday, 15 May 2025.
But NewsBits gathered that the Chief Executive Officer of the Oil and Gas Station, Engr. Ikechukwu Chukwuaba, seemed to have had a premonition of the unpleasant incident. He recalled that prior to the robbery operation, he was terribly threatened by a certain strange caller, who claimed to be the “leader of ‘Eastern Security Network (ESN)” for failure to meet “his demands.”
“Before the the ugly attack on my workers and gas station on early morning Thursday, May 15; on Easter Monday April 21st, I received a strange call from someone who claimed that he is the Area Commander, Oji River Eastern Security Network (ESN) ‘Eke Nwofia’ ( meaning: python that owns the bush)”, recalled the CEO, who was quick to add that the messages from the purported ESN leader came to him on Easter Monday, April 21 and Tuesday, April 22.
He explained that the message of Easter Monday, April 21, was a request that he should “send ten bags of rice” to them, at a location in Achi town, for their (ESN) upkeep. Don’t you know we killed two police men in Oji River? We don’t want to kill you, send ten bags of rice and logistics to us,” the CEO quoted the Commander as having said on the phone.
As if that was not enough disturbance, Chukwuaba said that he received another phone call from the same person but through a different phone number. This time, the said commander ordered him to “take the bags of rice he promised to buy for them to somewhere in Akpugoeze Community”, also in Oji River Local Government Area.
The oil and gas dealer further recounted: “Then on Tuesday, April 22, I waited for their call. They called around 10 am and demanded that the ten bags of rice be brought to Achi. Thereafter, they called me again and asked me to bring the bags of rice to Akpugoeze.”
However, upon realising that Chukwuaba was apparently playing pranks, he said the purported Commander was enraged, and demanded to know whether he had reported to the security forces – the Army or the Police. “He got angry and threatened to deal with me and my company in a month’s time,” he recalled.
Following the commander’s damning threat, Chukwuaba said he steered clear of Oji River since April 22 but sadly received the sad news of the attack on his Oil and Gas station at Oji River on Thursday, May 15, during when his workers were brutalized by the armed men.
He regretted returning to invest at home, although he expressed optimism that he would not succumb to undue exploitation and intimidation from the non-state actors. Chukwuaba appealed to the various security agencies to rise to the occasion, if indeed, Nigeria must advance economically and otherwise, stressing that without adequate security, investors would be discouraged from coming to invest.
The CEO, however, lauded the gallant local vigilante operatives in Oji River Urban, whose intelligent operations, he claimed, finally scared the hoodlums, although they looted thousands of naira from the company treasury and made away with four handsets of his workers, according to him.
Chukwuaba bemoaned the fact that the armed men damaged two CCTV cameras with memory valued at N800,000.00, besides taking away the key of the company’s mini-Hilux vehicle.
He recalled that “The hoodlums successfully dismantled one of the heavy generators, brought in two J-5 buses to cart away their loot before the local vigilante struck with their intelligent operations. The hoodlums then zoomed off with the two J-5 buses.” They abandoned the generator, he said.
At the time of assessing the incident on Saturday, May 15, it was observed that the Generator was being fixed back in the Generator House while additional blocks were being added to increase the height of the fence of the business outlet. The CEO said he had formally reported the case to the police, adding that the investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
But efforts to get a formal reaction from the police Spokesman were not successful as his line was inaccessible. However, an inside police source, who pleaded anonymity, said the investigation is on and once it is concluded, the media will be updated.
Also narrating the sad incident, the Security guard, Mr. Okonkwo Nnamdi, recounted his ordeal in the hands of the suspected robbers. Nnamdi said he was brutally macheted by the hoodlums for putting in brave efforts against them, before they tied him and dumped him somewhere within the premises. The guard was quite fortunate as the matchet narrowly missed his left eye.
Nnamdi said some of the hoodlums scaled over the fence around 12:00am, while many of them were mounted century outside, pointing out that the hoodlums were more than ten in number. Although two other security guards were also bound and gagged, they suffered less injury than Nnamdi, who had a cut on his head and was very close to his left eye.
The manager of the station, Mr Ajeh Sunday Abel, said the hoodlums overheard him as he was making a call for security agents to come to their rescue, and at gunpoint compelled him to open the central gate for other gang members to enter. Abel was also tied up with a rope before the hoodlums ransacked the office and stole the money in the office, and made away with all their phones.
