Gunmen have abducted a former member of the Anambra State House Assembly, Benson Nwawulu, in the Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Nwawulu was abducted from his house on Sunday.
The lawmaker left the assembly in 2019 at the expiration of his tenure. He later contested for and lost an election for the House of Representatives.
A family source said Mr Nwawulu’s son has contacted some members of the assembly, who are his father’s associates, for financial assistance.
But it is not clear, for now, if his abductors have made contact with the family for ransom.
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident.
He said the police were working hard to track down the suspects and free the former lawmaker.
“The command has since launched an operation aimed at rescuing the victim and arresting the abductors,” Mr Ikenga said on Wednesday night.
The latest incident comes about one month after gunmen abducted and then beheaded Nelson Achukwu, another former lawmaker in the Anambra State House of Assembly.
Mr Achukwu, a physically-challenged person, was killed on 21 June, three weeks after his abduction from his house in Ukpor, a community in Nnewi South Local government Area of the state.
In May, gunmen abducted and then beheaded Okechukwu Okoye, a lawmaker representing Aguata 2 Constituency in the state assembly.
Mr Okoye was killed on 21 May with his aide, Cyril Chiegboka, six days after they were abducted along Aguluzigbo Road, Anaocha Local Government Area of the state.