Friday, 22 May 2015
Policemen demand N65,000 to rescue kidnap victim
Policemen demand N65,000 to rescue kidnap victim
Rev. Louis Nebo
| credits: Family
| credits: Family
The
family of an Anglican Church cleric, Rev. Louis Nebo, says policemen
attached to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Enugu State Police Command
demanded N65,000 to rescue the man of God from the kidnappers’ den.
It was learnt that N15,000 of the sum
had allegedly been paid to the operatives before the kidnappers
contacted the family, demanding N10m ransom.
Louis, 57, was reportedly kidnapped by
some masked gunmen around Umumba Ndi Uno in the Ezeagu Local Government
Area of the state last Saturday.
The pastor, who lives in Aguobu Umumba,
was said to be returning from a meeting at a neighbouring community
around 5.30am on the fateful day when his captors ambushed him.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro on
Wednesday, the victim’s son, Ebube Nebo, said there was no progress on
the rescue of his father since the abduction was reported to the police.
He added that the family was devastated by the cops’ request.
He said, “He was coming from his
hometown in Obinofia Ndi Uno with my mother and her friend when he was
kidnapped. They had gone for a community meeting. We reported the
incident to the police.
“They initially requested N20,000 for
mobilisation, but we paid N15,000. They told us that they would go on a
rescue mission and left in our presence. When there was no success, we
went back to them. They are now demanding N50,000 to track the phone
number of the kidnappers, who had called us to demand N10m ransom. We do
not have the money.
“They (kidnappers) even allowed him to
speak with us on the phone and he said he was inside a thick bush. Just
last month, he paid N500,000 ransom for the release of one of his junior
pastors who was kidnapped.”
Ebube’s mother, Mrs. Charity Nebo, said
her husband had made a U-Turn on sighting three gunmen from afar, but
his escape mission was stalled by other members of the gang, who
surfaced from the bush and warned him not to move.
She said, “There were three men standing
on the road. They wore masks and were armed with guns. We decided to
turn back. As we made a U-turn, we saw other members of the gang
pointing guns at us. They chased us out of the car, collected the car
key and our phones. They escaped through the bush with the my husband.”
Charity implored the captors to release her husband, adding that the family did not have money to pay the ransom.
She said, “I believe in God that we are
worshiping. He will protect and safe him. Personally, I don’t have any
money. The kidnappers should be merciful and release him
unconditionally.”
A relative of the reverend, Mr. Madoka
Okoli, also said the policemen collected N15,000. He added that the
family was not ready to make any further payment and urged the police
authorities to arrest the kidnappers.
He said, “The policemen promised to comb
the bush after collecting the money, but there was no progress. They
are supposed to do their job based on the information we have provided,
but it is quite unfortunate that they are still demanding N50,000 from a
family that is already traumatised.”
The Enugu State police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed the abduction.
He said the command had not relented in
its effort to free the pastor and round up the kidnappers. Amaraizu
urged the family not to pay money to any security operative, noting that
the police should be provided with information that could assist in
tracking the captors.
He said, “I am aware that frantic
efforts are in place to get out the victim unhurt and alive and the
efforts did not include payment of any money to security operatives
under any guise. However, effort should be made to enable us to know
those behind this act.”
How I Will Choose My Ministers - Buhari
Buhari: How I will choose my ministers...
President-elect Muhammadu Buhari addresses a group at his Daura home, where he received various guests during the week.
Buhari made this known in an exclusive
interview he granted senior editors of Daily Trust at his country home
in Daura, Katsina State on Tuesday.
As the May 29 handover date draws
closer, there have been speculations about those who would make the next
government’s ministerial list. Most of the persons who featured on the
speculative list were picked from across the 36 states and the six
geopolitical zones, to rhyme with the PDP’s tradition of appointing a
minimum of one minister from each state of the federation and six others
from the geopolitical zones.In the interview, Buhari dismissed the speculations, by stating that “I am not speaking about it; I have not put anything on paper, so nobody has seen it and I haven’t discussed it with anybody; I am just keeping it close to my chest.”
The exclusive interview was conducted in-between a series of emotional activities in which the president-elect met with his primary and secondary school mates and other personal friends to exchange banters because, as he put it, as from May 29, he would be too busy with the affairs of Nigeria, hence it would be difficult to find time to socialise with his cherished friends from his childhood.
Providing an insight into how his ministers would emerge, Buhari said, “I am ardent listener of Hausa Service of Voice of America (VOA) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) from 6am to 7am every morning. I am going to quote myself because I heard in one of the interviews that I said the type of people I am supposed to appoint, like in the cabinet and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and service chiefs, will be different. Definitely my approach is going to be different from what we had under the PDP where governors nominated ministers.”
The president-elect said if state governors are at liberty to appoint their commissioners, he, too, should be at liberty to choose those who would serve with him in the Federal Executive Council.
According to Buhari, he was still looking around for the kind of persons who could help to transform the country, stating that, “I have been around long enough to know people that I can approach for things like that… Deliberately we will look for competent people, dedicated and experienced to head ministries and, of course, there will be schedules for ministers and we will expect them to fill them. Economically we will try and stop a lot of wastages and encourage austerity so that we can fund the ministries. Education and healthcare will get more attention. Of course, security is Number One. Certainly, there is a lot to do but we are hoping that we ‘ll get good people to be in charge of ministries who can apply themselves to their responsibilities so that in no time Nigerians would begin to see the difference.”
When asked if he would present the list of his ministers to the Senate in the first week of the proclamation of the new legislature, Buhari simply responded “I will not make that known before you.”
He spoke extensively on why he is insisting that the principle of separation of powers among the three arms of government should be obeyed; the power sharing in the All Progressives Congress (APC); fuel subsidy; the lack of progress made in the handover from President Goodluck Jonathan to him, and much more.
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