Another Lawmaker's Father Kidnapped

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  • Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 22:39:34 -0400

ThisDay Online, Nigeria
Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Another Lawmaker's Father Kidnapped

From Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt and Segun James in Yenagoa, 10.10.2007

Bayelsa

Dare devil gunmen in the early hours of Tuesday stormed the country home of 
Bayelsa State lawmaker, Honourable Ebioudu Komonibo, representing 
Kolokuma/Opokuma constituency I, and kidnapped his 82 years old father.
The octogenarian, Jeffy Komonibo who is blind was picked from his Odi, 
Kolokuma/Opokuma local government residence by a yet to be identified militant 
group. 
This happened just as  militants who stormed Saipem yard in Rumuolumeni 
September 26, 2007 and made away with two expatriates,  Libardo Valderrama 
(Filipino) and Albert Bacani Montemayor (Colombian) and a Nigerian while a 
third, a Columbian, Henry  Delgado Corrales  was shot dead, have insisted on 
being paid N150 million before they will release them. To ensure that the Joint 
Task Force and other Security agencies that had been on their trail lose track 
of where they are keeping the hostages, they have resorted to moving them from 
one point to the other in the creeks.
As at yesterday, security sources said they have moved the hostages "deep into 
the creeks" thereby making it more difficult for them to storm and possibly 
free the hostages like they did in the case of Dave Worth where they 
over-powered, arrested and detained the militants while they freed the hostage.
THISDAY gathered that the heavily armed gunmen who kidnapped the lawmaker's  
father arrived the community which was the theatre of the 1999 Odi massacre in 
two speed boats and a precision move headed for Pa. Komonibo's home which is on 
the bank of the river to pick him up.
The kidnappers were said to have shot sporadically into the air to scare away 
anybody who might want to dare them. Eyewitness  account has it that while some 
of the gunmen went to the lawmaker's for the operation, the boat drivers who 
were also heavily armed  waited with their engine running.
The octogenarian was easily picked up as he could neither resist them nor know 
the people who had come for him as he is blind. THISDAY was told by a little 
niece of the lawmaker who lives with the old man at Odi that the old man was in 
the sitting room of his house with his wife when the suspected gunmen invaded 
the community.
As at the time of this report, the fate of Pa Komonibo is unknown as he was 
said to be frail and sickly. The operation it was gathered lasted a few minutes 
as the gunmen met no resistance throughout the time of the operation as they 
succeeded in whisking the octogenarian to an unknown destination. A youth 
leader in the community who spoke under the condition of anonymity stated that 
the kidnapped elderly man has been on drug for some time now and appealed to 
the kidnappers to release him on time because of his deteriorating health 
condition. On whether any demand was made, the youth leader said that he could 
not ascertain, as the entire community was under siege during the period the 
incident lasted. Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relation Officer, 
Iniobong Ibokette said, the lawmaker's father was kidnapped yesterday and the 
matter is still under investigation. As at the time of filing this report, no 
arrest has been made but the security has been beefed up around
  the area.
Also five persons were yesterday taken before a Federal High Court in Port 
Harcourt and charged with kidnapping Dave Worth. Their pleas, however, could 
not be taken as the Prosecutor; Mr. Tony Umana was not in Court. An attempt by 
one Ernest Chika to hold his brief and go ahead with the case was stopped by 
the presiding judge, Hon Justice Reginald Nwodo who insisted that he could not 
be heard in the case as a private counsel. No plea was taken. He needed a fiat 
from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to do that and since 
he had none, the judge insisted that the accused should be taken back to where 
they were coming from and appear before her  today. 


http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=91848
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