Operations Against Kidnappers Just Begun

Inspector-General of Police Ogbonna Onovo said yesterday in Umuahia that police operations have just started against kidnappers with the release of four kidnapped journalists and their driver.

Alhaji Wahab Oba, the Chairman of Lagos NUJ , Mr Adolpus Okonkwo of Voice of Nigeria, Mr , Sola Oyeyipo of PMAN and Mr Sylvester Okereke of Champion Newspapers, kidnapped with their driver, Mr Azeez Yekini , in Abia State a week ago, were released yesterday.

Onovo while handing over the rescued journalists to Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia State, said that “the releasing and handing over is the first stage,” while “the second stage is to go after the kidnappers.”

He said that stage two would not be easy, pointing out that “while going after them, we will inconvenience some innocent people living within the area.”

Onovo appealed to the kidnappers to surrender themselves and their arms in their own interest to avoid bloodshed, saying “if they refuse, we will have no option than to confront them headlong.”

He explained that policing in a democratic state required a lot of care, but warned that “our care not to hurt innocent people should not be taken for weakness.”

Narrating how the police handled the situation, Onovo said that after combing the area on July 11, the police re-strategised and were able to locate the hide-out of the kidnappers in Obingwa.

“I deployed a contingent to start combing the bush, house to house search and with a charge to rescue the journalists alive because if there is confrontation, we don’t know who will survive the assault,” he said.

Onovo said that a police helicopter closed in on the hide-out of the kidnappers but exercised restraint to attack because “our primary aim was to rescue the journalists alive.”