Four Delta Leaders Abducted By Suspected Militants

To ensure adequate security across the country, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has said police officers would now be posted to their communities of origin.

Four Itsekiri leaders and some officials of Elcrest, an indigenous firm operating in the Niger Delta region, have been abducted by suspected militants. Their abduction was confirmed on Friday, May 19, by the Delta police command.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the public relations officer of the police command, Mr Andrew Aniamaka, as saying: “The police backed by the military are on the trail of the hoodlums.”

The report quoted Maj Abubakar Abdullahi, coordinator of the Joint Media Campaign Centre of Operations Delta Safe (OPDS), as saying that his team was on top of the situation.

The victims were kidnapped in a community in Benin River in Warri North local government area at 5 pm, on Tuesday, May 16. The report quoted a source as disclosing that the victims were returning to Warri from Ureju community when they were abducted.

“The community leaders had gone to show the officials of Elcrest, a location for the firm’s proposed free medical outreach. “The kidnappers are demanding a ransom of N36 million from the company and also requesting their inclusion in the company’s payroll,” the reportedly source said.