Kidnappers Abduct Editor's Dad

Kidnappers Abduct Editor's Dad, Demand N30m Ransom in Abia

KIDNAPPERS in the Abia State axis of the South-East geo-political zone of Nigeria, have abducted Chief Etuk-Udo Sampson, father Akanimo Sampson, editor (Niger Delta) of Watchdog Reporters. He was abducted with three others on Saturday, on their way back from a wedding ceremony.

Pa Sampson was at Ikeduru in Imo State, for the wedding ceremony of his nephew, Mr. Akanimo N. Sampson Etukudo, as the groom's fatherof the day. Some five other relatives who accompanied him to the wedding received serious gun shot wounds.

An eye-witness account said Pa Sampson was abducted at Onicha Ngwa, near the Nigerian Christian Hospital, after sporadic gun shots by the bandits which lasted for some ten minutes.

The abducted citizens have been denied food since Sunday, while their abductors are pressing for a ransom of N30 million.

Already, the Nigeria Police, Rivers state command, has made necessary contacts with the Abia state command to ensure that the captives regain their freedom.

Police Commissiner, Mr. Suleman Abba, said on Tuesday that his command has brought the incident to the knowledge of the Abia state high command.

Spokesperson for Journalist for Niger Delta (JODEL), a media group concerned with the affairs of the oil and gas region, Mr. Daniel Abia, claimed that Abia state was becoming increasingly unsafe for Akwa Ibom and Rivers states citizens.

The group is therefore, calling on Abuja to do something about that axis of terror since the authorities in Umuahia, the Abia state capital, appear to be helpless.

>From Eket where Pa Sampson hails, concerned citizens have called on the Godswill Akpabio administration to ensure the safety of Akwa Ibom who move to and fro Abia state.

Spokesperson for the concerned Eket people, Mr. Maurice Edohoeket, claimed that if the tide was not tamed, ''the Akwa Ibom people could be forced to embark on reprrisal attacks. There are some prominent Abia people who live and do business in Akwa Ibom''.

In the mean time, sources say the health of the senior citizen who recently came out of a surgical operation is at risk. He is also a royal father in Atai Ndon, Afaha-Eket, in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Before the Nigerian civil war, Sampson was a prominent figure in the automobile industry in Aba, the burstling commercial town of Abia. Before retiring to the traditional i nstitution, he was the sales manager of Auto Engineering Sales and Service Ltd, in Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State.

ENDS

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