Feb 7
HOPES of peace and stability in the Niger Delta further faded with the kidnapping of two indigenes of the region on separate occasions by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday.
The first incident occurred at 8 p.m. at Degot Restaurant at Railway Close, D-Line, Rivers State, where Mrs. Gladys Iniette-Daukoru, wife of the former Minister of State for Energy and the Mingi Nembe Kingdom, Edmund Daukoru, was abducted.
One hour later, the bandits invaded Mbougba axis of Port Harcourt and seized Dr. Elkaya Igom, Commissioner for Works and Estate with the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
There were however conflicting accounts of how Daukoru's wife was kidnapped. One of the reports had it that the victim, an indigene of Okoroma community of Nembe Local Council of Bayelsa State, was kidnapped at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday in the restaurant, which she allegedly operates.
The bandits upon arrival in the pub allegedly enquired about her whereabouts and when one of her employees was trying to respond to the strange guests' enquiries, Mrs. Iniette-Daukoru was said to have walked in. The gunmen immediately whisked her away to an unknown destination.
According to the source, her abductors later initiated contacts with the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Chief James Jephthah, demanding the pull-out of Joint Military Task Force (JTF) from Nembe before Mrs. Iniette-Dakouru would be freed.
Another account claimed that armed men invaded a popular pub, the Degot, which she owns, on Tuesday night brandishing their guns and directed everyone inside to remain silent while some of them went inside the building to search for Mrs. Daukoru.
It was learnt that the gunmen ransacked all the rooms until they found their victim, whom they reportedly dragged into a waiting vehicle and sped off.
Their mission accomplished, the bandits started shooting sporadically into the air to scare people from the area, a source said.
When The Guardian visited residence of the Daukorus along Bishop Dimerai Street in New Government Reserved Area (GRA), security personnel barred journalists from entering the premises which was besieged by scores of sympathisers. The Guardian also called the former minister on phone. It rang several times but was not picked.
The state police command spokesperson, Rita Inoma-Abbey, confirmed the kidnap and said no group had claimed responsibility for the act.
On the abduction of Igoni, RSIEC spokesperson, Mr. Sam Woka, told The Guardian that the commissioner was returning home from a church programme when he was stopped and driven away in his own vehicle. No group, according to him, had made a claim for ransom or taken responsibility for the abduction.
Woka said: "We are making a passionate appeal to the abductors to kindly free this gentleman unhurt. He has not offended anyone to deserve this. We call for his immediate release to his anxious family."
Meanwhile, the gunmen who abducted a senior official of Agip Oil Company, Mr. Charles W. James, have demanded N15 million ransom. The victim's wife, Inara, said that her husband was abducted on his way to church.
She said: "I am begging his abductors to please release him. We don't have the N15 million they are demanding."
The Action Congress (AC) in Bayelsa State and Jephthan, have condemned the kidnap of Mrs. Iniette-Daukoru and demanded her immediate and unconditional release.
Jephthah said the militia group responsible for the act had been engaged in talks on the immediate release of the victim.
"We have contacted them and they demanded the immediate withdrawal of the soldiers in Nembe. I told them that the issue of the withdrawal of soldiers is beyond the committee and the state government but that their message will be forwarded to the Federal Government."
In a statement yesterday, AC Secretary, Miriki Ebikibina, said the abduction was "evil and that though the demand for the withdrawal of the military may be timely, the means adopted by the armed militia may further give the Federal Government the excuse to keep the troops in the region."
The Secretary-General of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Mr. Udengs Eradir, condemned the incident, noting that the perpetrators were common criminals.
Meanwhile, France has declared its readiness to work with the Federal Government to check the insecurity in the Niger Delta.
French Ambassador to Nigeria Jean-Michel Dumond said his country was set to activate the military assistance provision in the Memorandum of Understanding reached recently between the two countries.
His country's Special Forces, Dumond said "have the necessary experience of manoeuvering in mangrove areas such as those of the Niger Delta."
Last year, Nigeria and France entered into a strategic partnership as part of efforts to strengthen ties between the two nations, whose trade volume has hit 3.2 billion Euro.
Fielding questions from The Guardian in Abuja on the strategic partnership signed when President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua visited Paris last year and projections for the Franco-Nigeria relations in 2009, Dumond said his country's expected assistance in the Niger Delta would not be interventionist but cooperative with Nigeria defining the areas of needs.
He said: "On the military side of the strategic partnership, we are looking at training forces in relation to the situation in the Niger Delta. We received some understanding and then agreement from the Nigerian government to continue the discussions in order to agree on a MoU between our two countries in this field... Now, it is a framework agreement and of course, the Nigerian government will define its requirements and with agreement, we will be able to answer to the request of your government. So, first of all, it is up to the Nigeria authorities to define their own needs ..."
He continued: "There is absolutely no question of French forces intervening in the region. It's only a question of exchanging of experiences between the two forces and nothing more..."
Also, Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State has alerted the Federal Government to the proliferation of arms between Ikang in Cross River State and Bakassi in Cameroun.
The Guardian learnt that since Nigeria handed over Bakassi to Cameroun last year, militants have taken over the coastal waters between Ikang and Bakassi and occasionally engage in shootouts.
Last Sunday, sources in Ikang said "the militants in their luxury base at Akpa Ikang engaged the Camerounian gendarmes in sporadic shooting before retiring to Ikang in four speed boats with their weapons."
The militants, who entered Ikang in the afternoon of the said day, "had a free reign getting their drinks and later left for their base in the creeks without molesting or harming anybody. We believe their targets are the gendarmes and anyone who disturbs their operations," a resident said.
Apparently confirming this development, Imoke on Tuesday told the visiting Inter-Agency Maritime Security Task Force on Acts of Illegalities in Nigerian Waters (IAMSTF) that "the incidence of piracy came to fore with the handover of Bakassi to the Republic of Cameroun which has enhanced the proliferation of arms between Ikang and Bakassi waters."
Chairman of the Task Force, Rear Admiral Joseph Ezeoba explained that the body was formed following reports of piracy within Nigerian territorial waters, adding that it was mandated to check all illegal activities and security breaches in the coastal areas.
The first incident occurred at 8 p.m. at Degot Restaurant at Railway Close, D-Line, Rivers State, where Mrs. Gladys Iniette-Daukoru, wife of the former Minister of State for Energy and the Mingi Nembe Kingdom, Edmund Daukoru, was abducted.
One hour later, the bandits invaded Mbougba axis of Port Harcourt and seized Dr. Elkaya Igom, Commissioner for Works and Estate with the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
There were however conflicting accounts of how Daukoru's wife was kidnapped. One of the reports had it that the victim, an indigene of Okoroma community of Nembe Local Council of Bayelsa State, was kidnapped at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday in the restaurant, which she allegedly operates.
The bandits upon arrival in the pub allegedly enquired about her whereabouts and when one of her employees was trying to respond to the strange guests' enquiries, Mrs. Iniette-Daukoru was said to have walked in. The gunmen immediately whisked her away to an unknown destination.
According to the source, her abductors later initiated contacts with the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Chief James Jephthah, demanding the pull-out of Joint Military Task Force (JTF) from Nembe before Mrs. Iniette-Dakouru would be freed.
Another account claimed that armed men invaded a popular pub, the Degot, which she owns, on Tuesday night brandishing their guns and directed everyone inside to remain silent while some of them went inside the building to search for Mrs. Daukoru.
It was learnt that the gunmen ransacked all the rooms until they found their victim, whom they reportedly dragged into a waiting vehicle and sped off.
Their mission accomplished, the bandits started shooting sporadically into the air to scare people from the area, a source said.
When The Guardian visited residence of the Daukorus along Bishop Dimerai Street in New Government Reserved Area (GRA), security personnel barred journalists from entering the premises which was besieged by scores of sympathisers. The Guardian also called the former minister on phone. It rang several times but was not picked.
The state police command spokesperson, Rita Inoma-Abbey, confirmed the kidnap and said no group had claimed responsibility for the act.
On the abduction of Igoni, RSIEC spokesperson, Mr. Sam Woka, told The Guardian that the commissioner was returning home from a church programme when he was stopped and driven away in his own vehicle. No group, according to him, had made a claim for ransom or taken responsibility for the abduction.
Woka said: "We are making a passionate appeal to the abductors to kindly free this gentleman unhurt. He has not offended anyone to deserve this. We call for his immediate release to his anxious family."
Meanwhile, the gunmen who abducted a senior official of Agip Oil Company, Mr. Charles W. James, have demanded N15 million ransom. The victim's wife, Inara, said that her husband was abducted on his way to church.
She said: "I am begging his abductors to please release him. We don't have the N15 million they are demanding."
The Action Congress (AC) in Bayelsa State and Jephthan, have condemned the kidnap of Mrs. Iniette-Daukoru and demanded her immediate and unconditional release.
Jephthah said the militia group responsible for the act had been engaged in talks on the immediate release of the victim.
"We have contacted them and they demanded the immediate withdrawal of the soldiers in Nembe. I told them that the issue of the withdrawal of soldiers is beyond the committee and the state government but that their message will be forwarded to the Federal Government."
In a statement yesterday, AC Secretary, Miriki Ebikibina, said the abduction was "evil and that though the demand for the withdrawal of the military may be timely, the means adopted by the armed militia may further give the Federal Government the excuse to keep the troops in the region."
The Secretary-General of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Mr. Udengs Eradir, condemned the incident, noting that the perpetrators were common criminals.
Meanwhile, France has declared its readiness to work with the Federal Government to check the insecurity in the Niger Delta.
French Ambassador to Nigeria Jean-Michel Dumond said his country was set to activate the military assistance provision in the Memorandum of Understanding reached recently between the two countries.
His country's Special Forces, Dumond said "have the necessary experience of manoeuvering in mangrove areas such as those of the Niger Delta."
Last year, Nigeria and France entered into a strategic partnership as part of efforts to strengthen ties between the two nations, whose trade volume has hit 3.2 billion Euro.
Fielding questions from The Guardian in Abuja on the strategic partnership signed when President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua visited Paris last year and projections for the Franco-Nigeria relations in 2009, Dumond said his country's expected assistance in the Niger Delta would not be interventionist but cooperative with Nigeria defining the areas of needs.
He said: "On the military side of the strategic partnership, we are looking at training forces in relation to the situation in the Niger Delta. We received some understanding and then agreement from the Nigerian government to continue the discussions in order to agree on a MoU between our two countries in this field... Now, it is a framework agreement and of course, the Nigerian government will define its requirements and with agreement, we will be able to answer to the request of your government. So, first of all, it is up to the Nigeria authorities to define their own needs ..."
He continued: "There is absolutely no question of French forces intervening in the region. It's only a question of exchanging of experiences between the two forces and nothing more..."
Also, Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State has alerted the Federal Government to the proliferation of arms between Ikang in Cross River State and Bakassi in Cameroun.
The Guardian learnt that since Nigeria handed over Bakassi to Cameroun last year, militants have taken over the coastal waters between Ikang and Bakassi and occasionally engage in shootouts.
Last Sunday, sources in Ikang said "the militants in their luxury base at Akpa Ikang engaged the Camerounian gendarmes in sporadic shooting before retiring to Ikang in four speed boats with their weapons."
The militants, who entered Ikang in the afternoon of the said day, "had a free reign getting their drinks and later left for their base in the creeks without molesting or harming anybody. We believe their targets are the gendarmes and anyone who disturbs their operations," a resident said.
Apparently confirming this development, Imoke on Tuesday told the visiting Inter-Agency Maritime Security Task Force on Acts of Illegalities in Nigerian Waters (IAMSTF) that "the incidence of piracy came to fore with the handover of Bakassi to the Republic of Cameroun which has enhanced the proliferation of arms between Ikang and Bakassi waters."
Chairman of the Task Force, Rear Admiral Joseph Ezeoba explained that the body was formed following reports of piracy within Nigerian territorial waters, adding that it was mandated to check all illegal activities and security breaches in the coastal areas.