GUNMEN DRESSED LIKE POLICE OFFICERS KIDNAP NYSC MEMBER AND THREE OTHERS,PHOTO

Gunmen dressed like police officers kidnap NYSC member and three others(photo)

BECKY GODFREY

       Becky Godfrey, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was kidnapped by gunmen on Monday, April 3, along Okene-Auchi road. The corp member was abducted along with three other travelers enroute Bayelsa.

Godfrey, a serving corp member in Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa, was going to her place of primary assignment to sign the clearance for her monthly allowance when the incident happened.It was learnt that a member of the gang dressed like a police officer stopped the bus; after this, the other members came out of the bush.Three other passengers were taken in addition to the corp member before the gunmen disappeared into the bush. 

       The driver reported the incident at Okene police division afterwards. As with cases of kidnap, the corp member’s father, Braima Godfrey, was contacted hours after the abduction and a ransom of N5m was demanded. However, the agitated father was unable to negotiate with the kidnappers as police officers rescued the corp member and the other abducted travelers on Tuesday, April 4. “They said I should bring N5m. I bargained with them on Monday, but they did not agree. I called them more than 20 times, but they insisted on N5m. I called them again this morning (Tuesday), they were adamant.

       “My daughter told me on the phone that some of her abductors wore masks and that three other passengers were kidnapped. She graduated last year from Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, where she studied Marketing. She will finish her service in May. “When I got to the Okene Police Division on Tuesday, I was told that the Area Commander and some officers had gone to the scene of the incident. “Around 12pm, my daughter and the three others were rescued and one of the suspects was arrested,” her father said. The 30-year-old corp member narrated her ordeal with the kidnappers after the police came to her rescue. They were offered dirty water to drink by the abductors when they complained of thirst. The lady also added that she stayed up all night without being given food.

      "As we were travelling, an armed man in a police uniform stopped our bus. We were 11 on that bus. Our driver thought he was a policeman and stopped for him. He suddenly fired his gun and some men came out of the bush. “They collected our money and phones and took four of us with them into the bush. Some of them were Fulani. They beat me up and forced me to disclose my father’s phone number. “My experience in the bush was terrible. They didn’t give us any food. Later, they gave us dirty water to quench our thirst. The water was smelly. None of us drank it. I was the only female; the three other victims were males,” she said.

       William Aya, the Kogi state PPRO said two persons were arrested in connection to the abduction and that they have been transferred to the state criminal investigation and intelligence department. “The Area Commander led a team to the bush and rescued the four victims. One of them is a corps member. We were able to arrest two suspects and efforts are ongoing to arrest fleeing members of the gang,” he stated.