Perhaps out of fear of being apprehended or by their own tactics, kidnappers of the 14 oil workers in Rivers State have shunned negotiations for the release of their victims.
The victims, who are staff of Nest Oil Plc, were returning from their base in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State on Friday, when gunmen abducted them and took them to unknown destination.
It was gathered that the vehicle conveying them to Port Harcourt, was forceful stopped by the gunmen who had mounted a barricade on Omoku/Eleme road and whisked them away.
It was, however, gathered that the abductors shunned all discussions, to avoid being tracked by the security agencies.
Giving update on the incident, the State Police Public Relation Officer, Nnamdi Omoni said the police are closing in on the kidnappers. He assured that the victims would be freed any moment from now.
He said: “ Our men are all over the bushes combing all the axis where the abduction took place, we are on the trails of the hoodlums, as soon as possible there will be a good news on the rescue of the oil workers.”
Continuing he said, “There is no contacts yet with the kidnappers, they refuse to open discussions with the police because they feel we are tracking and tracing them, but we are working assiduously to ensure that the oil workers are released soon and unharmed”
The Police spokesman who agreed that criminals in the state were multiplying on daily bases, noted that the police will do everything to make the state safe for all citizens.
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“Even though, they are rising in numbers, we are still smashing them, only yesterday, three kidnappers who engaged the police were overpowered and killed,” he said.
Omoni assured the people of the state not to panic as the police are on top of the situation. He said the command is working tirelessly to ensure that crime and criminality reduces to the barest minimum.
Reacting to the security situation in the state, human rights activist, Omenazu Jackson said, the insecurity of lives and properties in the state was orchestrated by desperate politicians who wanted to acquire power by all means.
Jackson who condemned the kidnapping of the oil workers and the killing of human rights lawyer, Ken Astuwete, said he is deeply worried about the ugly development, pointing out that, he was a victim of gunshot last year, but God saved him.
Meanwhile, the State Governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday, said the state government would continue to support all security agencies in the state to ensure that they are better equipped to fight crime.
The Governor who spoke when he granted audience to the State Commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ambassador Rachel Shelleng, he said the protection of lives and property remains key to his administration.
The governor regretted that the rampant use of illicit drugs by youths is one of the driving forces of crime and criminality in the state.
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