The wife of the Clan Head of Obong in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State was on Tuesday abducted by unknown gunmen.
It was learnt that about five armed men riding motorcycles stormed the village and whisked away Noami who returned from market in the presence of helpless villagers.
“The kidnappers are demanding for N5 million ransom from the family. We are shocked and apprehensive because of this outrageous amount,” an anonymous family source told StraightNews reporter.
Obong clan in Etim Ekpo, has become a theatre of politically motivated killings and abductions ahead of the forthcoming Local Government elections slated to hold in the 31 local government councils of Akwa Ibom on December 2, 2017.
It was learnt several high profile politicians in the area are alleged to have fuelled the killings using local thugs and suspected cultists in Etim Ekpo and the neighbouring Ukanafun Local Government Areas, in which no fewer than 70 persons have been killed in the last one year.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zubairu Muazu, who spoke on phone on his way to attend meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said “I know we have made several arrests”, but directed the reporter to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), for more details.
However, the PPRO, DSP Bala Elkana, said the four suspects have so far been arrested and were helping the Police in the process of arresting perpetrators and free the victim.
According to him, a crack team of anti-riot Policemen including the State Anti- Robbery and Kidnapping Squad (SARS) have been deployed to comb the surrounding areas of Ibio Nung Achat and its environs with a view to rescuing the wife of the monarch alive.
He urged the general public to always volunteer information as the Command has launch “Operation Purge”, to ensure the hoodlums were dislodged and the troubled areas of Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun liberated from the scourge of cultism and violent crimes.
