… As abductors demand N10m each
By: Felix Ikpotor
It is one month since some four persons were kidnapped at Finiapiri-Ama (Amauda) at Banigo Isile-Ogono Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State without any sign of rescue.
The victims are; Thompson Allison, Dagogo Jackmay, Daniel Hart, Theophilus Ibiama and Sunny Hart.
Daughter of Daniel Hart, Keibi Hart has raised the alarm that her father and the rest of the victims were being tortured by their captors.
She disclosed in an interview with a Port Harcourt based radio station that when the kidnappers, who were demanding N10 million for each of their victims, called and she spoke with her father, she observed that they were torturing him and ordering him to tell his family how much they should pay for his release.
“This morning they called and they were beating up my dad and I don’t know what to do. They were torturing my dad, he was saying they were asking him to tell us how much to pay. They were asking for N10 million for each of them. The family cannot afford the ransom. We really don’t have anything, we don’t have.”
She appealed to the State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and other well-meaning individuals in the society to come to their aid to facilitate the safe release of her father and his co-victims.
“Let government and anyone who has blood running in their veins come, they should come and help us. It has been traumatic for the family since the kidnap of our father.”
A daughter of another of the victims, Alvina Hart lamented that her family has been facing untold hardship since the abduction of her father, saying that “I don’t know what to say again, we are just passing through hell. We don’t have anywhere to source for funds. We have been helpless”.
The Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, SP Nnamdi Omoni had earlier told newsmen that the command was working round the clock to secure the release of the abductees,
“We are working round the clock. I cannot tell you what we are doing to get them. All hands are deck. It is a security matter we are doing our best to get them out,” he said.
In the meantime, the Rivers State House of Assembly has directed its committee on Neighbourhood Watch and Security to work with security agencies to ensure that the kidnapped victims are released unconditionally.
The house gave the directive after the member, representing Bonny State Constituency, Abinye Blessing Pepple presented a motion during plenary on Thursday.
Pepple who also escaped the attack by whiskers said the security agencies should take necessary steps to get the five victims released.
He prayed that, “ the House should condemn the dastardly act in its entirety and urge the assembly to direct the police to take necessary steps to effect the release of the victims”.
Ruling on the motion, the speaker Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani promised that the assembly would continue to stand with the people of Bonny until the kidnapped victims are safely released.
