Abducted university don regains freedom in Benue

Police rescue kidnapped driver in Abia

THE family of the abducted lecturer, Dr. Joseph Orsar of the University of Agriculture, (UAM), Makurdi, who was abducted by unknown gunmen last Friday, has heaved a sigh of relief as the victim regained his freedom from his abductors.

The Guardian gathered that Orsar, a lecturer with the Department of Wild Life and Range Management at UAM, fell into the hands of the abductors around 5:00pm in his house located at the Federal Housing Estate, North Bank, Makurdi.

Narrating his ordeal to The Guardian on behalf of the victim, the Acting Chairman of ASUU, UAM, Dr. Bemgba Anjembe said the abductors had later contacted his family and demanded a ransom of N30million to be paid before he would be released.

Anjembe said while the family was making arrangements to see to his release, Orsar was said to have managed to escape from his abductors and ran into Gbagyo village in Guma Local Council where the Kindred Head of Nnanev, Zaki Orkpe Gbagyo, who later got in contact with one Dr. J K Ikya of the Department of Food Science and Technology.

The ASUU chairperson disclosed further that Dr. Ikya subsequently got across to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Kutcha, who arranged for security men to go and rescue Dr. Orsar from the Village.

According to the ASUU acting chairman, “as a union, we wish to state that the act of kidnapping, demanding of ransom and ransom taking is condemnable and we are asking security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the abduction of our colleague.”

He pointed out that before now, UAM had always been a very peaceful place with no incidence of abduction ever recorded in the institution and prayed that there shall never be a recurrence of such incident again, even ad he urged his members to be security conscious at all times.

“We wish to express gratitude to the Gbagyo community as led by Zaki Orkpe Gbagyo for coming to the aid of our colleague as we await the outcome of investigation on the matter. I encourage our members to be security alert at all times,” he said.

When contacted the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer (DPPRO) in the state, ASP Matthew Oku, confirmed the incident and the lecturer’s eventual rescue adding that investigation was still ongoing on the matter.

Meanwhile, a kidnap victim, Mr Udo Nwachukwu of Umuana Ndume Ibeku in Umuahia North Local Council, who is the driver of the Chief of Staff to the state governor, was at the weekend rescued from his abductors in Ikwuano Local Council of the state.

He was said to have been abducted by three gunmen from a neighbouring village called Umezerolo, who came in a green Toyota Camry salon car while he was washing a vehicle and took him in their car, with another member of the gang driving the victim’s Toyota Hilux Van following them.

His rescue was facilitated following the alarm said to have been raised by the victim’s neighbours, who quickly contacted the Police Control Room and the police immediately alerted all Police Patrol Teams at Nipping points.

Acting decisively, the Police Patrol Team gave the kidnappers a spirited chase along Umuahia- Ikot Ekpene Road at Ikwuano during which the kidnappers, after sighting the police van, quickly abandoned their victim and his van at different locations.