Ekondo Titi Mayor Kidnapped, Credit Union Torched

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Kidnapped Mayor of Ekondo Titi Council, Nanji Kenneth Ene. 

Kidnapped Mayor of Ekondo Titi Council, Nanji Kenneth Ene. 

His abductors have demanded a ransom of fcfa 5m

The Mayor of Ekondo Titi council has been kidnapped by unknown gunmen and ferried to an undisclosed locality. News about Mayor Nanji Kenneth Ene’s kidnap spread like bushfire in the evening of Thursday 2 August 2018 across the Southwest Region. Though no group has claimed responsibility for the act, unconfirmed reports said he was spotted being man-handled by some armed men suspected of being elements of the ‘Ambazonia Defense Forces, ADF, at Bekora, a village near Ekondo Titi town.

            The incident disrupted business activities in Bekora especially as the market at Bekora was shutdown, we learned.

            Sources said traders were sent out of the market after vehicles were blocked from plying the area. A credit union facility in nearby Lobe Estate was partially torched by fire. The Lobe Cooperative Credit Union is said to be now ruins, we learnt.

            Nanji Kenneth became Mayor of Ekondo Titi following the death of the former Mayor, Mbongo Alfred. Nanji was formerly the first deputy Mayor under the late Mayor Mbongo Alfred. He was crowned Mayor at a special council session organized on 29 March 2018 to elect a new team to run the activities of the council. The session was supervised by former Ndian SDO, Etta Mbokaya Ashu.

            It should be recalled that the late Mayor, who died in hospital in Kumba, was unconditionally buried at the Kumba city cemetery. This was after elements of the ‘Ambazonia Defense Force’, ADF, on Friday 16 March 2018, blocked circulation along the Kumba-Ekondo Titi road, rendering hundreds of mourners and other commuters stranded on both sides.

            At press time, no official statement had been made by the authorities about the kidnap of Mayor Nanji Kenneth.

            Meantime, family sources said his abductors who initially demanded a ransom of 5million cfa later settled for 3million fcfa that is, if the family agrees to act fast.