Victim drowns in bid to escape from kidnappers, As five others, including four foreigners are kidnapped in Port Harcourt
IG of Police, MD Abubakar
A kidnap victim yesterday drowned in Port Harcourt, minutes after his abduction with five others-four Thais and one Nigerian.
The Nigerian got drowned after jumping into a river in his bid to escape from his abductors.
The kidnapped persons and the deceased
were on their way to work at the Rivers State Government-owned,
Israeli-run Mega Fish Farm in Buguma, headquarters of Asari-Toru Local
Government Area of the state when the kidnappers struck.
Time was about 7am.
As soon as the deceased jumped into the
water,the kidnappers quickly pushed the other Nigerian out of their
get-away boat and sped away with the Thais.
The Rivers Police Public Relations
Officer (PPRO), Mrs. Angela Agabe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police
(DSP), confirmed the kidnap, but was yet to get a formal situation
report from the Divisional Police Officer
(DPO) in Buguma, as at press
time.
The Rivers Commissioner of Agriculture,
Emmanuel Chinda, said the six workers were accosted by the armed men,
who forced them into another boat .
He attributed the abduction to “ the insecurity, which has pervaded Rivers state recently.”
He said: “ The boys (kidnappers) had
before now, discontinued all these acts of aggression and crime, until
they became emboldened by the fact that security is out of the state
government’s hand and that they have superiority over the security
agents.
“Now, the danger is that they are all coming out of their hiding and terrorising people of the state.
“The hoodlums feel emboldened to do this
because they believe the police are now their friends. The militants
recently protested on the streets of Port Harcourt in support of Mbu
Joseph Mbu (Rivers Commissioner of Police).
“Now, they have the idea that they have
the police on their side and that they can resume crimes without
consequences. Buguma had been calm before now; you can see that the
situation is gradually degenerating into something sad.”
The Buguma fish farm, according to the operators, is one of the biggest in the country.
It is being managed by an Israeli company, Omida Farms, with Nigerians, Israelis and Thais, among others.
