Ex-Petroleum Minister’s Wife Kidnapped
From Chika Amanze-Nwachuku in Lagos, Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt and Segun James in Yenagoa, 02.05.2009
Kidnappings seem to be on the upswing again in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, as gunmen on Tuesday night kidnapped Gladys, the wife of former Petroleum Minister and Amayanabo of Nembe, Dr. Edmund Daukoru.
It was barely one week after an eight-year-old boy was kidnapped and his 11-year-old-sister murdered in the city…
Gladys was allegedly kidnapped in D-Line of Port Harcourt around 9 pm on Tuesday in a commando-like operation that left security operatives stupefied as she was said to be with full security escort when the action took place. Her kidnap occurred almost at the same time Dr. Egare Igoni, a member of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, was also abducted by gunmen.
Earlier, one Charles James, a Nigerian worker with Agip Oil Nigeria, was kidnapped around Ada George area of Port Harcourt and his kidnappers are demanding N15 million ransom.
Police spokesperson in the state, Mrs. Rita Abbey, confirmed to THISDAY that Gladys was blocked and kidnapped Tuesday night but did not give more details except to say the police were doing everything possible to ensure she was freed from her captors.
She also said that no ransom had been demanded as the group, which carried out the attack, is yet to be known and have not made any contact known to the police. But THISDAY gathered that after the operation, the abductors contacted the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Chief James Jephthah, demanding the immediate withdrawal of men of the Joint Military Task Force on the Niger Delta (JTF) as condition for her release.
Igoni’s kidnap was confirmed by JTF Spokesman, Lt. Colonel Sagir Musa, who said he was abducted by unidentified gunmen around 9 pm Tuesday along Iwofe road.
“He was trailed, intercepted, blocked and forcefully driven away in his black coloured Honda Accord car with registration number RV 27 A 64 by his abductors. The motive of the abduction is pecuniary,” he said.
Sagir further stated that the JTF had alerted all its formations and other security agencies with a view to effecting his early release by the bandits, stating that it was JTF’s policy not to pay any ransom for the release of kidnap victims.
The kidnap of the Agip senior staff on February 2, 2009 at 2130hrs was said to have taken place while he was returning from a church programme in his car. Information on the kidnap is still scanty though security sources confirmed it.
Meanwhile, the abduction has attracted reactions from people in Bayelsa State, including the Action Congress (AC), which condemned the kidnap.
The AC, in a statement by the State Secretary, Mr. Miriki Ebikibina, said the abduction was evil. He said the action would only give the Federal Government an excuse to continue the retention of the military in the region.
The Chairman, Peace and Resolution Committee in Bayelsa State, Jephthah, said the committee had started engaging the gunmen responsible for the abduction in talks on the immediate release of Mrs. Dakoru. Jephthah said the committee had already put machinery in motion to engage in dialogue with those responsible and ensure the unconditional release of the victim.
Meanwhile, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) branch of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) yesterday vowed to join the umbrella body in the strike if their demands are not met by Friday.
An official of the group told THISDAY that the DPR branch had been fully briefed and that members would comply with the directives.
“Our compliance is sure. So if the government does not address those issues before Friday, we will withdraw our services. We are not interested in embarking on strike, because strike does nobody any good. So if those issues are not resolved, surely we will join. Like I said, we will ensure full compliance,” he said.
DPR employees hold the keys to the loading terminals. They’re needed at the loading terminals to monitor how much crude is being loaded into vessels for export from Nigeria. Some Ministry of Petroleum officials spoken to yesterday expressed fears that the action would not only cripple exports but would further threaten Nigeria’s oil output, which currently stands at two million barrels a day.
They noted that since PENGASSAN members monitor the quantity and quality of crude leaving Nigerian terminals, activities at these terminals would be grounded during the period, a development that puts the country’s export capability under threat.
Also speaking in a telephone interview with THISDAY, an official of PENGASSAN, Mr. Babatunde Ogun, confirmed that for now, the government has not met the union’s demands. Asked if officials of the union have begun negotiation with government, he said, the issue is not negotiation, but an urgent release of all those who are in the militants’ net.
