Barely 48 hours after the kidnap of the foster father of President Goodluck Jonathan in his Otueke hometown, Bayelsa State, the Presidency has ordered security agents from Force Headquarters, Abuja to join their counterparts in Bayelsa State to comb the forests and creeks within and outside Ogbia Local Government Areas and rescue Chief Nengite Nitabai alive.
Nitabai, a cousin of President Goodluck Jonathan, was abducted from his house Sunday evening.
The search, according to security source, has also been extended to neighbouring local government areas of Nembe and Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, and Abua/Odual and Engenni axis in Rivers State
As at the time of reporting, the hoodlums who carried out the action have not made any contact with the family neither have they made any demand for ransom.
Accordingly, The Tide gathered the situation has generated tension, fear and anxiety in the coastal community of Otuoke.
On the fateful day, about 10 gunmen had invaded  the community and whisked away the 65-year Nengite Nitabai, while he was returning home in his car after  an evening outing.
The incident, occurred at about 8pm in his premises, which is located at very excluded area before the Otuoke Bridge.
The wife of Nitabai and three of his children were in the house when the kidnappers struck.
Sister-in-law to the victim, Akinobebh Jin, said one of the sons of the Nitabai, first sighted the criminals and raised an alarm.
She said:”We came back from somewhere around 8pm. Silas was at the veranda doing his assignment while my in-law, my sister and two other siblings were in the living room together. After sometime, Silas came shouting and saying that some people had just entered into the compound. As we sprang on our feet, we were confused because we didn’t know where to run to.”
The abduction of Nitabai threw the community into a moody situation as folks were gripped with fear.
A family source who maintained anonymity said the kidnappers were yet to establish contact with the victim’s family.
Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Alex Akhigbe, confirmed the incident and said one of the kidnapped suspects had been arrested by the police as investigation continued.
Akhigbe further said the car of the kidnapped victim which was abandoned by the gunmen along the road had also been recovered by the police.
The police spokesman disclosed that the police were on the trail of the kidnappers with a view to rescuing Nitabai.
In October, the elder sister to Presidential Adviser on Research and Documentation, Oronto Douglas, Mrs. Augusta Douglas-Ayam was kidnapped at Ogbia town near.
The victim spent about three weeks in the custody of her kidnappers at a community near Abonnema, Rivers State.