GRAPHIC details of how some of the hoodlums who kidnapped Prof
Kamene Okonjo, mother of Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister
of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, were arrested in the rescue
operation was painted by the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Ikechukwu Aduba, on Friday in Asaba.
Kamene, wife of Prof Chukwuka
Okonjo, the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Council of the state,
was abducted last Sunday at the palace.
In the bid to free the
matriarch of the Okonjo family, Aduba explained that the leader of the
gang, one Nwazor Nwose, popularly called Bolaji, was killed by the
police during a shootout in the Umuaji neighbourhood of Asaba.
Aduba
described Bolaji as a notorious bandit, who was earlier arrested by the
police some months ago and charged to court, but was freed on bail,
only for him to return to his old business of kidnapping for ransom.
He said that when the police stormed the kingpin’s hideout in Asaba, he attempted to escape, but was shot.
The
Police chief explained that the suspect still managed to scale the
fence of his house, but was arrested outside the compound and died on
the way to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, where his corpse has
been deposited in the morgue.
He listed items recovered from the
hoodlums as their getaway Volkswagen car, marked DELTA ASB 677 AA, with
which they abducted the Queen and a Toyota minibus, marked ANAMBRA KPP
64 XA, with the inscription of God’s Light City Church International.
Both vehicles were parked at a corner of the sprawling Police headquarters on Okpanam Road, Asaba.
Aduba
said a combined team of policemen from Abuja and Delta State carried
out the operation, adding that Mrs. Okonjo, a retired professor of
Sociology, was freed from the kidnappers’ den in Kwale, Ndokwa West
Council of the state, which the police stormed after the killing of the
gang leader and the arrest of other gang members.
He gave the
names of the other gang members arrested as Hard Rock, Tsetse Fly and
Tipper Boy, stressing that a manhunt for the other members was on.
Aduba
said: “Acting on information, we were able to identify the target, who
lives in Asaba, the mastermind of the kidnap of Mrs. Okonjo, one Nwazor
Nwose, aslo known and addressed as Bolaji, who hails from Umuaji
Quarters, Asaba.
“He is a notorious kidnapper, who was arrested
some months ago. Some few months ago, before my arrival in the state, he
was arrested and arraigned in court and freed on bail, but continued
with his nefarious activities. This time around, he has met his
waterloo.”
The Police commissioner explained that when the
operation to free the octogenarian started, the police had to be extra
careful, because if they had stormed kidnappers’ hideout, it could have
resulted in fatalities, in view of her age.
On rumours that a
ransom was paid before she was set free, Aduba said that as an
institution, the police does not get itself involved in the payment of
ransoms. He said it was only the family members that could speak
authoritatively on the issue.
The Palace spokesman, Chief Lawrence
Okolobi, who confirmed the release, said the rest of the family members
were surprised, but very excited when the Queen rode into the palace on
an Okada after she was set free by her captors.
Amidst tight security at the palace, Okolobi stressed that no ransom was paid before she was freed.
He
said the minister’s mother was released unhurt and in high spirit, but
too traumatised to narrate her experience during her five-day captivity.
At
Ogwashi-Uku, the ordinary people carried on as usual, but the mood in
Asaba was exhilarating, following the killing of Nwose, who most locals
who knew him described as a taciturn middle-aged man with a heart of
lion.
Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chike Ogeah, described
Prof Okonjo’s freedom as a thing of great joy, saying her abduction was
contrary to African culture, which has great respect for the elderly and
hold traditional institutions in the highest esteem.
The
minister, in a statement by her Special Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuiku,
thanked President Goodluck Jonathan, the security agencies for their
excellent operations, and Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Peter Obi
(Anambra) and Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), as well as other governors,
friends and well wishers within and outside government for their prayers
and encouragement during the very difficult period of her mother’s
captivity.
