One Year after His Abduction, College of Medicine Provost, Iweha Still Not Found

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The whereabouts of the Provost  College of Medicine, Gregory University Amachara, Abia State, Prof. Uwadinachi Iweha has remained a mystery 12 months after he was abducted by assailants.

Iweha, who had served as the Chief Medical Director(CMD) of Abia State University Teaching Hospital(ABSUTH), Aba and CMD Abia State Specialist Hospital Amachara, was whisked away on June 5, 2022, at his home in Umuajameze Umuopara, Umuahia South Local Government of Abia State.
Though an undisclosed sum was eventually paid as ransoms to his abductors, the family of the missing medical doctor told journalists at a press conference weekend that nothing has been heard about their father.

The first son of the Professor of medicine, Engr. Chukwudi Iweha, who spoke on behalf of the family, said the family, “is still in shock and distress,” due to absence of any concrete information about what has become of their father since his abduction.
“As a family, we cannot discern the motive behind this evil act or even point any accusing finger at anybody; we have our trust in God that he will return and be reunited with us,” he said.

Iweha lamented the, “unnecessary delays” in police investigations to unlock the mystery behind his father’s ordeal and pinpoint the main sponsor(s) of the abduction.
He stated that having recovered the handset of Iweha from a suspect which led the police to arrest four others, it was expected the security agencies should have solved the case 52 weeks on.

Iweha, disclosed that the family has learnt that the police had already arraigned two of the suspects in court but the matter got stalled due to the ongoing strike by judicial workers which led to closure of courts in Abia.
However, he reasoned that having arrested some of the suspects and even has even gone to the extent of charging two of them to court, the police should have by now been in a position to tell the Iweha family where exactly the abductors said they kept him.
The Iweha family spokesman took a swipe at people spreading insidious rumours that Iweha had been freed and flown abroad for medical attention, saying that nothing could be further from the truth.

“This (unfounded rumours) adds to our pains. We are still looking for our father,” Chukwudi said in anguish-laden voice.
He appealed to the new governor of Abia State, Mr. Alex Otti and the lawmakers, “representing our community at the State and National Assembly to assist us in tasking the security agencies to bring this matter to a positive conclusion.”

The abduction of Iweha had sparked several protests by women of Umuopara clan and his colleagues in the medical profession. They all in unison demanded quick action from security agencies and government intervention to free Iweha from his abductors.
Apart from protests, the Abia State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) also went on strike which lasted for three days in June 2022 to compel the government to take positive action on Prof Iweha’s issue.