Gunmen have abducted a High Court judge, Joy Uwana, in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria’s south-south region. She was abducted along a highway on Monday in the Oron Local Government Area of the state by the gunmen who shot her police orderly.
The police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, Odiko MacDon, has confirmed the abduction, according to a report by Channels TV.
The judge was on her way home to Uyo after the court was sitting in Oron when she was abducted.
“It’s very unfortunate,” Channels TV quoted Mr. MacDon, a superintendent of police, as saying of the incident.
Mr. MacDon said the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom, Olatoye Durusinmi, has ordered an investigation into the incident.
“As we speak, no stone will be left unturned, and resources will be harnessed to ensure that Her Lordship is reunited with her family any moment from now.
“I have spoken with the family of the deceased officer, who, until his death, was an orderly to the judge. Justice will be served, and the perpetrators will be brought to book,” the police spokesperson said.
Abduction for ransom is now one of the dominant crimes across various Nigerian cities.
Politicians, entrepreneurs, and just anyone with good financial worth, including schoolchildren, are easy targets.