There is panic in Isuikwuato District of Abia State following the abduction of one of the key campaigners for power shift to the district in 2023.

Sir Dave Agwalla (Okwadike), a businessman based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was kidnapped by gunmen on Thursday, May 12, 2022, during one of his routine visits to his Umuokogbuo Eluama Community, where he is supervising a road project being executed by the community through self help.

Messages posted on both Umuokogbuo and Isuikwuato WhatsApp groups indicate that Sir Agwalla, who is widely loved in Isuikwuato due to his readiness to serve the people free of charge, was abducted “between Umuahia and Nunya road”, according to a distress message posted Friday on the WhatsApp Group of Isuikwuato District Welfare Association (IDWA).

One of the administrators of Umuokogbuo Development Union (UDU) WhatsApp Group disclosed that after getting “the disturbing news” of Sir Agwalla’s kidnap, “I tried breaching him this morning but his phones are switched off!”

News Express learnt that this is the second time Sir Agwalla would be kidnapped. Those who seized him this time around were yet to make contact with the family as at the time of filing this report.

This has spread panic throughout Isuikwuato, with prayers pouring in for the safety and early release of Sir Agwalla.

Mirroring the feelings of many, Senator Emma Nwaka, an illustrious son of Isuikwuato and Abia 2023 governorship hopeful on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said: “Oh, My God! This certainly is not an experience to befall anyone. And for him, this is the second. I pray he returns to us safe and sound.”

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