Gunmen storm Jonathan’s base, abduct 55-yr-old woman

HEAVILY armed gunmen have kidnapped a 55-year-old grandmother from former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Ogbia Local Council of Bayelsa State.

The assailants, numbering six, reportedly stormed the home of Mrs. Agidi in Opume at about 9am on Sunday and shot sporadically into the air before making away with the victim.

Opume is the community home of A.J. Turner, a prominent political leader and close associate of Jonathan.

Chairman of IYC, Ogbia Clan, Osaanya B. Osaanya, who confirmed the incident, however called on the abductors to release the woman as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 5, Musa Daura, while reacting to the development and past abductions in the state, called for a collaborative action between the police force and communities to curtail the rising spate of kidnapping in the Niger Delta region, especially, Bayelsa State.

He said since the police were not magicians, they relied on information from communities, especially coastal settlements to effectively tackle the menace of kidnapping and other violent crimes.

The AIG, who is in charge of Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states, said the force was undertaking measures to check criminality in the state.

He appealed to the public to freely contact the police whenever they noticed suspected strange faces in their domain.

Daura, who toured some police formations in Yenagoa and held a meeting with members of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), said his team would crack any criminal case if they got information on time.

“It is unfortunate that we have these cases of kidnapping. There is nowhere in the world where you won’t experience such things. For the past one month or so, it was recently that I got a report of robbery incident in Bayelsa.

“The state has 80 per cent water and 20 per cent land. So, it is not possible for anybody to come from outside and kidnap in Bayelsa,” he said.