The death of a Kogi State councillor has left her family and community grieving after days of uncertainty.
Rosemary Adukwu, who represented Ogugu Ward III, was reportedly killed after suspected kidnappers abducted her while she travelled to buy goods for her business.
Adukwu was travelling to Onitsha, Anambra State, on September 30 when her vehicle was reportedly stopped near the Oji River.
The incident happened around the boundary between Enugu and Anambra states.
Olamaboro Local Government Chairman Ameh Williams announced her death in a statement released on Friday.
He described her passing as a painful loss to the council and community.
“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the sudden demise of our dear sister and colleague, Hon. Mrs. Rosemary Adukwu, the honourable councillor representing the good people of Ogugu Ward III in the eighth Olamaboro Legislative Council,” the statement read.
According to a family source cited by Daily Trust, the attackers allegedly singled Adukwu out and took her away.
Other passengers were reportedly allowed to continue their journey.
The family became worried when the abductors failed to contact them with a ransom demand for almost a week.
Relatives then contacted security operatives, who reportedly tracked her phone.
“On Thursday, a voice announced while receiving the call that the owner of the phone is dead,” the source said.
The source added that the driver and the person who answered Adukwu’s phone had been arrested.
They were reportedly assisting security operatives with the investigation.
However, PREMIUM TIMES said it could not independently verify the family’s account of the abduction and death.
The Kogi State Police Command had not responded to enquiries at the time of its report.
The President-General of the Ogugu District Union, Samuel Agada, condemned the killing and described 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.
He added that her death had affected her family and communities across Olamaboro and Kogi State.
Adukwu was reportedly buried at her family compound in Ogugu Centre on Friday afternoon.
