Unknown gunmen on Sunday abducted President Goodluck Jonathan’s
cousin, Inengite Nitabai.
The suspected kidnappers, numbering 10, broke into Nitabai’s
Otuoke, Bayelsa state home around 9pm and took him away.
The 70-year-old victim is currently the head of Mr. Jonathan’s
clan had long been adopted as father by the Nigeria’s President.
It was learnt that when the gunmen stormed Nitabai’s
residence, they initially met one of his children, simply identified as Silas.
Silas, according to sources, quickly ran into the house to
alert his father and other members of the family because it was strange to see
visitors at the time of the day.
It was said that six of the assailants, however, forced
their way into the house, while the remaining four stayed outside.
The unknown gunmen ordered Nitabai, his wife, Owiya,
Nitabai’s inlaw, Akinobebh Jin and Nitabai’s three children to face down.
The source said some of the kidnappers took Nitabai to one
side of the house, while the remaining took Owiya to the upper floor.
Corroborating the source’s account, Jin said they asked
Nitabai to bring money and when he told them he did not have, they used the butt
of the gun to hit his head.
She said it was when Owiya gave them N400,000 that they stopped
beating the 70-year-old man. He added that they later whisked him away in his
Sports Utility Vehicle.
“The (kidnappers) came to the house around 9pm. The time
they came, Silas was doing his assignment. Because he saw them as strange
people, he ran into the house to tell us.
“As he was telling us, the bandits entered the house and
ordered all of us to lie flat on the floor.
“They asked our father (Nitabai) to bring money. He told
them he did not have any. They were furious and they said, ‘How can you say you
do not have money? You, a President’s cousin!’ That was how they started
hitting his head with the butt of their gun butt.
“After that, they went to where Madam (Owiya) was and asked
her to bring money or else they would kill her. She told them she just came
back from a trip and that she did not have enough money. They followed her
upstairs to collect money from her. They started giving her the beating of her
life. She gave them N400,000 and begged them to leave her husband. It was when
they came down that they took our father (Nitabai) away,” said Jin.
The spokesman for the Joint Military Task Force, Col. Onyema
Nwachukwu, confirmed the abduction.
“Information available to me is that a certain Chief
Inengite Nitabai was abducted by about 10 unknown gunmen about 9pm at Otuoke
community in Ogbia Local Government Area
using his private vehicle.
“The vehicle was later recovered at Onuebum community
waterfront. The Deputy Commander, JTF, Commodore Ime Ekpa, and a team of
security agents have visited the location to assess the crime scene.”
He said investigation was in progress to unmask the kidnappers
and rescue the victim.
It was learnt that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hilary
Opara, had also visited the crime scene.
Opara said he and his men had been working tirelessly since
the incident happened.
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