Abductors of Okali, a six-year old son of former
Commissioner for Local Government and Community Development in Bayelsa
State, Mr. Godknows Powell, have demanded N50m to set him free.
Okali was kidnapped by some unidentified gunmen on January 1 along Etegwe, a suburb of Yenagoa, the state capital.
It was learnt that the victim was abducted at about 12.45am while returning from a crossover church service.
He was said to be in the company of his mother when the hoodlums accosted them, isolated and whisked him away to an unknown place.
Powell, who served as commissioner in the administration of Chief Timipre Sylva, was also a former Chairman of Yenagoa local government council when Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was the governor of the state.
But a security source said the kidnappers established contact with the family of their victims two days after the incident.
He said the abductors whose whereabouts were still unknown warned the victim’s family against involving security outfits in their negotiations.
The source who pleaded anonymity said the hoodlums insisted on N50m.
But he added: “We know the kidnappers will reduce their ransom. It is their normal practice. They always place high amount of money on their victims only to reduce it later through negotiation.”
On what the security agencies are doing to free the boy, he said: “Cases of kidnapping are delicate and Nigerian security agencies especially the police have remained clueless on how to handle them.
“They always claim that they are on top of the matter, but the fact is that they are as helpless as the victim. They don’t know how to approach the matter because in most cases, their interventions turn tragic.”
Source: The Nation
Okali was kidnapped by some unidentified gunmen on January 1 along Etegwe, a suburb of Yenagoa, the state capital.
It was learnt that the victim was abducted at about 12.45am while returning from a crossover church service.
He was said to be in the company of his mother when the hoodlums accosted them, isolated and whisked him away to an unknown place.
Powell, who served as commissioner in the administration of Chief Timipre Sylva, was also a former Chairman of Yenagoa local government council when Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was the governor of the state.
But a security source said the kidnappers established contact with the family of their victims two days after the incident.
He said the abductors whose whereabouts were still unknown warned the victim’s family against involving security outfits in their negotiations.
The source who pleaded anonymity said the hoodlums insisted on N50m.
But he added: “We know the kidnappers will reduce their ransom. It is their normal practice. They always place high amount of money on their victims only to reduce it later through negotiation.”
On what the security agencies are doing to free the boy, he said: “Cases of kidnapping are delicate and Nigerian security agencies especially the police have remained clueless on how to handle them.
“They always claim that they are on top of the matter, but the fact is that they are as helpless as the victim. They don’t know how to approach the matter because in most cases, their interventions turn tragic.”
Source: The Nation
No comments:
Post a Comment