JTF Takes Over Search For Kidnapped Senator’s Wife

There were indications, at the weekend, that members of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF), in the Niger Delta region, might have taken over the search for the possible rescue of the kidnapped wife of Senator George Sekibo.

Mrs. Asime George Sekibo, wife of the senator representing Rivers East senatorial district in the National Assembly was kidnapped at about 6.30 pm, last Thursday,at the Obiri-Ikwerre axis of the East-West Road.

Asime, a post-graduate student of the University of Port Harcourt, was abducted by about seven gunmen, who forced her out of her Hummer jeep along with three other occupants of the vehicle and whisked them away in their own vehicle.

Spokesman for Sector Two of JTF, Lt. Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, however, told LEADERSHIP on telephone that the security outfit could not openly disclose its involvement in the rescue mission as it could put the lives of the kidnap victims at risk.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command said, yesterday, that its men were still investigating to know the actual location of the kidnapped lawmaker’s wife.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the State, Mr. Benjamin Ugwuegbulem, told LEADERSHIP on telephone that the command has spread its dragnet to track down the kidnappers.

Ugwuegbulem, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) said, “as soon as we heard of the incident, we started our investigation. As we speak, we have intensified efforts to ensure that the senator’s wife is released and the kidnappers apprehended.”