Abductors Of 15 Passengers On Calabar-Oron Waterways Demand Ransom

Abductors of 15 passengers including some candidates posted from the neighbouring Cross River State to participate in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) in Akwa Ibom State have reached out to families of the victims and demanded for an undisclosed ransom which, LEADERSHIP learnt, runs into millions of Naira.

Akwa Ibom State commissioner of police (CP), Baba Azare, who disclosed this yesterday, said the kidnappers have contacted the families from a location around Bakassi, demanding the ransom to be delivered at Oron local government area of Akwa Ibom State.

He revealed a tactical collaboration with Cross River Command to rescue the victims and arrest the suspects.

He said: “We have deployed our tactical team to rescue the victims but we need collaboration from our men in Cross River State.

“We can not exactly say that the victims were JAMB candidates because anybody can be a passenger in the ill fated vessel.”

He said the incident occurred immediately the boat sailed from the jetty in Cross River, a few kilometres before the vessel was waylaid as the gunmen accosted all the passengers and emptied them into their boat and sped off to unknown destination.

“But the funny thing is that the boat owner and the driver who were inside the boat were not abducted.

We have been calling him to come out and make his statement to the police but he is nowhere to be found.

“The kidnappers have called demanding for ransom but the receiver is in Oron.

We would work together to bring the perpetrators to book and rescue all the victims immediately.”

Similarly, the Command spokesperson, DSP Timfon John, reiterated that “operatives have intensified ongoing operations aimed at the swift rescue of victims.”