Businessman and founder of Jezco Oil and Jezco Group, Sir Joseph Ezeokafor, has reportedly been kidnapped in Awka, Anambra State, after he allegedly went alone to a mountain to pray.

Ezeokafor, who is also the father of Nigerian Instagram celebrity Jowizaza, was reportedly abducted last week at Ifite Awka, according to lawyer Chukwudi Iwuchukwu.

Iwuchukwu disclosed the alleged abduction in a Facebook post on Sunday, claiming that Ezeokafor had gone to the mountain alone for overnight prayers without his security details and police personnel who usually accompanied him.

He alleged that unidentified gunmen abducted the businessman during the prayer session and took him to an undisclosed location.

“Sir Joseph Ezeokafor, a Nigerian billionaire businessman, the founder of Jezco Oil and the Jezco Group, who is also the father of Nigerian Instagram celebrity Jowizaza, was reportedly kidnapped last week from a bush in Awka, in Anambra State,” Iwuchukwu wrote.

He added that Ezeokafor had gone to the mountain “alone to pray and seek the face of God without his security details and his policemen attached to him as it has been a normal practice for the billionaire businessman in the past.”

Iwuchukwu further alleged that the businessman was taken away by unknown gunmen while praying. “In the course of the fervent prayers and his vulnerability, he was picked up by unknown gunmen who took him away to an unknown location.”

The reported abduction has reportedly triggered concern and mourning in Ekwulobia, the community where Ezeokafor hails from.

Iwuchukwu described Ezeokafor as the richest man from the community and said the reported incident had affected preparations for the community’s annual New Yam Festival.

According to him, the community has reportedly postponed the festival, an unusual decision which he attributed to the circumstances surrounding the businessman’s alleged abduction. “The community where he comes from, Ekwulobia, has been thrown into confusion and mourning ever since the news of the abduction broke in the community.”

He said the community considered it inappropriate to proceed with its annual celebration while the family of the businessman was dealing with the reported abduction.

The circumstances surrounding Ezeokafor’s reported abduction, including his current whereabouts and the identity of those allegedly responsible, remain unclear based on the information available in the statement.

The report has also generated concern over the safety of residents and visitors in parts of Anambra State, particularly amid continued concerns over criminal activity and abductions in the South-East.

No official statement from the Anambra State Government, the police or Ezeokafor’s family was contained in the account alleging the abduction.

The businessman’s family and community are expected to continue efforts to secure his safe release.

The Anambra state police command has yet to comment on the abduction of the businessman.

Ahead the 2027 Presidential election, the leadership of the Igbo Community Association (ICA) the umbrella socio-cultural organization in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) strongly refutes and rejects the recent statements made by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, Minister of Works David Umahi, and Senate Deputy Chief Whip Onyekachi Nwebonyi claiming that the South-East electorate is fully united behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

President General of the Igbo ethnic body, Nze Engr. Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe stated in a press Statement on Monday emphatically stated that the three of them are neither spokespersons of Igbos in the FCT. He added that, “these three are merely being sent out to talk for Tinubu against the interest of Igbos. The South-East considers the Tinubu administration as a failed administration and for this reason will not vote Tinubu.”

The ICA President noted for the avoidance of doubt, that it wishes to set the record straight for the public and the political establishment that the mandate to speak for the Igbo People neither lie in the hand of Governor Hope Uzodimma, Minister David Umahi, nor Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi who under Tinubu arrogate to themselves as the spokespersons for the Igbo ethnic group.

Nze Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe, further agued that elected political appointees and ruling-party actors do not hold a mandate to declare a political consensus on behalf of millions of Igbo citizens.

The statement reads further, “These endorsements represent the personal political preservation strategies of a few office holders seeking to retain favor with the presidency. They do not reflect the true political stance, socio-economic realities, or grassroots sentiment of the South-East region.

“The grassroots population across the South-East considers the current federal administration to have failed on key economic and administrative metrics.

“The assertion that President Tinubu will sweep all five South-East states in 2027 is completely detached from the prevailing conditions on the ground.”

Meanwhile, The Igbo Community Association (ICA) FCT urges public officials from the South-East to focus on their constitutional duties, governance, and the immediate economic needs of their constituents, rather than attempting to trade away the political sovereignty of the Igbo electorate for personal leverage.

The Anambra State Government has demolished over 200 makeshift shops and structures blocking road setbacks in Ozubulu and Nnewi.

During the demolition exercise carried out by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, some of the traders pleaded with the government to provide them with alternative places to relocate their businesses, as many complained of their inability to afford the high cost of rent in the major markets.

At the Ugwuoye Market axis in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area, about 100 shanties attached to the wall of the popular Joint Hospital were demolished amid panic among the occupants.

About 100 makeshift and illegal shops were also demolished at Traffic Light Nnewi, in line with the Operation Zero Shanties introduced by the Governor Chukwuma Soludo-led administration.

A two-storey building built on top of a drainage channel was also pulled down around the Nkwor Nnewi Triangle.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Chijioke Ojukwu, said the exercise was part of the government’s effort to evolve a prosperous, liveable homeland that everyone will be proud of.

Mr Ojukwu said the government received several complaints from some members of the public over the defacing of the Joint Hospital axis by illegal structures and shanties.

He confirmed that the occupants were issued proper notification at different times and warned that the state will no longer tolerate the situation where government directives are not adhered to, especially as regards physical planning.

Mr Ojukwu noted that the ministry was serious about urban regeneration and restoring sanity to the major cities across the state.