The hope of two kidnapped teachers of Obong Christian High School, Obong Ntak in Etim Ekpo local government area of Akwa Ibom State regaining freedom is dimming following non-payment of ransom caused by inability of the school to pay their December and January salaries.
Two weeks ago, two teachers of the school- Mr. Mfonobong Marcus Ukpong from Uruk Ata 2 village in Etim Ekpo and Pastor Aniekan Etim Enang from Ikot Ibekwe village in Ukanafun- said to be on their way to the school were kidnapped.
Straightnews gathered that the kidnappers had earlier served Ukpong a letter demanding that he pays N300,000 to them or be ready to face their wrath.
It was further gathered that the teacher who has no such money, had taken his fate in his hands praying God to touch the hearts of the dreaded men who are said to have made life difficult to many residents of the area.
Ukpong, alongside his colleague, Enang was said to have been ambushed on their way to school. The duo were said to be taken to an unknown place and the kidnappers are demanding for payment of ransom before their release.
Information gathered from a close source indicated that efforts by the families to raise money to secure release of the abducted teachers are still unsuccessful.
Confirming this, Essang Moses Akpanudo, the principal of Obong Christian High School said he is aware that the two abducted teachers are still in the kidnappers’ den.
Asked on the effort made by the school to assist in paying the ransom, Akpanudo said the school could not pay teachers and other workers for December and January salaries.
He attributed this to the precarious financial situation of the school caused by the activities of kidnappers in making life unbearable to the villagers, thus discouraging parents from neighbouring Abia state from bringing their children and wards to the school.
In recent times, the spate of kidnapping has paralyzed public and private schools in the area and has continued unabated resulting in poor students’ enrolment, forcing most school proprietors to operate the schools as “charity to the host community.”
This has financially crippled the schools and has made it difficult for the proprietors to regularly pay salaries to their teachers and other staffers, a situation that has compelled some of them to voluntarily quit the job in search of other jobs.
When contacted, DSP Odiko Macdon, the State Police Public Relations Officer, said that he was not aware of the kidnap, promising to reach back to our correspondent once he gets information.
