The Chairman of Okrika Local Government Area, Chief Philimon Iwoloma Kinggoli, who was kidnapped on Tuesday last week by unknown gunmen, has regained his freedom.
A press statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday by the Rivers State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Nnamdi Omoni, said the abducted council chairman was rescued Tuesday night in a covert operation by the operatives of the anti-kidnapping unit of the Police.
He said that the freed council chairman was taken to the hospital, debriefed and released to reunite with his family.
Similarly, one of the three abducted teachers of UBE Primary School, Rama in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State has regained freedom after he tricked a watchman charged with guarding kidnapped persons to escape.
Daily Trust reports that gunmen had on Monday, 15th March, 2021 stormed UBE Primary School Rama and abducted three teachers and three boys from primary 3 shortly after the school assembly. Teachers from the school later told our correspondent that the three boys later escaped and have reunited with their families.
However, the gunmen went away with Rabiu Salisu, a primary 6 Form Master, Umar Hassan, a primary 1 and 2 class teacher and Bala Adamu, the school’s Arabic teacher and later demanded N5 million each from their families to free them.
Our correspondent gathered that Rabiu who escaped last week without any ransom paid had made his move when he noticed that the bandits had left to fend off a military assault while one of the two guards keeping watch over them had left for the stream with the only available rifle.
Speaking with Daily Trust on how he escaped, Rabiu said: “When I noticed the guard was alone and not armed, I told him I wanted to go to the toilet and from there, he only saw me running. I also noticed that my two colleagues also ran from the camp.”
The primary 6 Form Master who is now nursing a leg injury at home said unfortunately, Umar Hassan and Bala Adamu had been recaptured by another faction of bandits who are now demanding N750,000 each for their release.
“Before our escape, we were eight in the camp, three of us were teachers and there were five others including a woman and her daughter. The woman became the designated cook and we ate mostly rice and beans three times daily,” he said.
He said the bandits were under the leadership of one Ali Kawaje, a youth who is called by his title, Kachalla. He described the bandits as current in the day-to-day happenings around the country saying they were ardent radio listeners who were often seen with transistor radio sets.
“On the day they abducted us, we had told them that we were adhoc teachers not staff of the government but later that night they challenged us, saying they heard on BBC that we were government staff and they wanted government to pay for our release,” he said.
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