Anxiety As Kidnappers Hold On To Akwa Ibom PDP Chief

Anxiety has continued in the family of Chief Eyo Okon Edet, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, who was abducted 11 days ago.

The concerns of the family are exacerbated by the failure of the kidnappers to contact any member of the businessman’s family.

Edet was seized by armed hoodlums, who stormed his filling station on Marina Road in Oron local government area and whisked him away to an unknown destination.

The victim, popularly known as” Eyo Aswang” was the deputy coordinator of the Divine Mandate (DM), the campaign organisation of Governor Umo Eno during the 2023 general election.

LEADERSHIP gathered that he was taken along the estuary of the Oron coastal waters, while the Sienna vehicle used for the operation was set ablaze on the beach before sailing with the victim into the sea.

A family source, who declined to identify himself in print, lamented that “everyone in the family including other well-wishers are in grief over the incident especially when we could not ascertain the motive behind his abduction, because for over 10 days since he was kidnapped, they could not establish contact to demand for ransom, as is always the case when kidnappers carry out such operations for cash.”

He said prior to his kidnap, Edet, who is the chairman of EyoTech Oil Nig Ltd, “never had any issue that we are privy to, for them to embark on such evil mission of kidnapping him,” and appealed to security agencies to spread their dragnets, working in collaboration with the Marine Police, to rescue him alive.

In a chat with LEADERSHIP yesterday, the police spokesperson, SP Odiko Macdon,  condemned the resort to kidnap-for-cash or to settle scores, stressing that “there is no justification to kidnap a fellow human being for any reason.”

Although he stated that he would not disclose the operational strategy in place to rescue the PDP chief alive, the police image maker, assured that efforts were on top gear to get Edet out of the kidnappers’ den, as well as get the perpetrators apprehended with a view to bringing them to justice.

The commissioner of police (CP), Mr Olatoye Durosinmi, according to Macdon, “has been working frantically to ensure the kidnapped victim regains freedom, and the perpetrators arrested and brought to book.”

“The CP is on top of his game because he has zero tolerance for any form of crime and criminalities in the state, and has deployed more tactical resources to ensure the man is rescued unharmed and the state safe for all,” he stressed, and warned criminal elements to change or be ready to face the superior fire power of security operatives.