•Abductors reduce ransom from N400m to N10m
Gunmen have abducted three workers of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Bayelsa State.
There has been a resurgence of kidnapping, killings and other forms of violence in the area.
Five soldiers and a mobile policeman were killed by gunmen, who sacked a military outpost at Nembe last Friday.
The victims of the latest incident were reportedly seized at Kalamatoru and whisked away to an unknown place in the creeks.
The incident, it was learnt, happened on Saturday when the victims were inspecting oil installations in the area.
The hoodlums, who were said to have operated on a speedboat, accosted the employees after shooting into the air to scare them.
Investigation showed that the incident was not reported to the police, the Navy and the Joint Task Force (JTF), code-named Operation Pulo Shield.
JTF’s Coordinator for the Joint Media Campaign Centre (JMCC) Lt.-Col. Isa Ado said the outfit did not receive a situation report.
Also, police spokesman Asinim Butswat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said nobody reported the incident to the police.
But a security officer attached to the Department of State Security (DSS), who spoke in confidence, confirmed the abduction.
He said the abductors had established contact with DPR and started negotiation for ransom.
Butswat said the abductors initially demanded N400 million ransom but reduced it to N10 million.
The police spokesman said the kidnappers abandoned DPR to negotiate with families of their captors.
He said: “The kidnappers are afraid of their fate because their company seems unwilling and unserious with the negotiation. The kidnappers are now talking to families of their victims.”