•PDP demands release of 52 suspects remanded over anti-kidnapping protest
Gunmen, who abducted eight indigenes of Imoga community in Akoko-Edo Local Council of Edo State on Friday night, have demanded N100 million ransom for their release.
The eight were abducted after attending a function in Ibillo and decided to lodge in a hotel. This was as the Edo chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday demanded the immediate release of 52 suspects remanded for protesting against kidnapping in Ekpoma, Esan West Local Council, which allegedly turned violent.
The Okpahi of Imoga Kingdom, Oba Patrick Obajoye, in a telephone conversation yesterday, said the eight were kidnapped at Star Boy Hotel on Imoga-Ibillo Road in Akoko-Edo.
He stated that the victims had gone to Ibillo for a function and decided to lodge for the night at Star Boy hotel, which also belonged to an Imoga indigene.
The king stated that the kidnappers came to the hotel in army uniforms and bought drinks, pretending to be waiting for someone, and that after a while, the kidnappers accosted the owner of the hotel and seized his two phones. He said they also seized the phones of the others, tied their hands and led them into the bush on foot.
“As it is now, the kidnappers have reduced the ransom to N70 million. When we begged for further reduction, they said one of the vehicles belonging to the hotelier should be sold to pay the ransom.
“Eight of them, including one woman, are in the kidnappers’ den. The kidnapping looked like an insider job, if one considers the way the gunmen spoke to those negotiating the ransom.
It is a very sad day for us in our community and we hope that this will end well for our indigenes. However, raising this money is a big task.”
The monarch commended the personnel of Edo Police Command and the state government for their efforts at rescuing the abductees. The Guardian gathered that one person sustained a gunshot injury while trying to escape, and was receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital. The Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, asked for time to respond as at the time of filing the report.
THE 52 suspects, mostly students, were remanded at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre after the Edo State Criminal Court II in Benin City declined jurisdiction.
A statement by the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Dan Osa-Ogbegie, alleged that the arrest and remand of the suspects were orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in the state.
He alleged that Ekpoma had been abandoned to kidnappers and violent criminals, with residents living in fear as attacks escalate unchecked.
Osa-Ogbegie said the party was unequivocally opposed to kidnapping and killings in all their forms and demanded the immediate dismantling of criminal networks operating freely across Ekpoma and neighbouring communities.
