The eight candidates of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) abducted by pirates along the Bille waterways in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State have been rescued after spending 21 days in captivity.
Also, suspected kidnappers who abducted three members of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry at Kasemola, Ogbese axis in Akure North Local Government Area have demanded the payment of N15 million ransom before they are released.
The victims were abducted on Monday evening on their way from Bible Study
The Rivers victims were rescued on Monday evening by a security outfit, the Royal Fouchee Security Services, popularly known as the Amama Soldiers.
The outfit belongs to a former leader of the Niger Delta Peoples’ Volunteer Force (NDPVF)/Amayanabo (king), Torusaramapiri in Degema Local Government Area, Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo.
The victims were abducted on 6 May after the pirates hijacked two passenger boats travelling to Bille in Degema.The abductors contacted the victims’ families and demanded a ransom of N100 million to set them free.
Asari-Dokubo commended his operatives for the rescue, saying the process of freeing the victims started on Sunday in the creek.
He said he sent his fighters to undertake the operation following a plea by the Directorate of State Security (DSS), adding that one of the victims, who had paid a ransom, assisted them.
Asari-Dokubo described the action of the pirates as man’s inhumanity to man, especially as they starved and subjected the victims to harrowing experiences.
He said: ‘These victims have been there (captivity) for 21 days. This is the height of man’s inhumanity to man. You steal your fellow men and dignify it by calling it kidnapping. Steal your fellow human being and keep him somewhere, starve him, ask for money.
‘One of our brothers was among the kidnapped people and he paid N10 million. He was the one who assisted us to the camp’.
The monarch said he was worried over the whereabouts of a military officer, who was also in the boat when the pirates struck, fearing that he might have been killed.
Also, a message from one of their members reads, ‘Good morning beloved,
‘Kindly pray along with us. Three of our members were kidnapped yesterday after Bible Study at Kasemola inside Ogbese axis. We need divine Intervention’.
Ondo Police spokesman, Ayanlade Olushola, said policemen had been deployed into the forest in search of the victims’.
