The Department of State Services (DSS) in Rivers State yesterday paraded four persons suspected to be involved in the abduction of Vanguard columnist, Donu Kogbara.
Kogbara was kidnapped in front of her house in the Nkpogu area of Port Harcourt on Sunday, August 30, by armed men in police uniform and who drove in a CRV jeep.
She spent more than a week in the kidnappers den before the hoodlums dropped her off in a creek, from where she regained her freedom.
The Rivers State Director of DSS, Ibrahim Ngoshe, paraded the suspects yesterday at the DSS office in Port Harcourt.
Ngoshe said the suspects were part of a 13-man gang that kidnapped the popular columnist and broadcaster, Kogbara, on August 30, 2015, in front of her house in Nkpogu axis of Port Harcourt.
Ngoshe said the suspects, according to preliminary investigation and their statement, had been involved in various kidnapping in state.
He called on members of the public to provide useful information that would aid in tackling insecurity.
Items recovered from the suspects include a pump action gun and some ammunition.
Meanwhile the police in the state have confirmed that armed gunmen, on Monday, abducted five persons, including a male serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The incident occurred at Government Secondary School, Agba-Ndele in Emohua Local Government Area of the state.
According an eyewitness, Ogechi Nwachukwu, the kidnappers spent the night at the corps members’ lodge because the NYSC members in the community had long vacated the place due to insecurity.
She narrated: “At exactly 10am, the kidnappers, armed and numbering over 10, came from the corps members’ lodge. They first took the security guard identified as Jonathan Woforu, who, then shouted, ‘militants, militants’.
“The security guard’s shout attracted the attention of everyone. Thereafter, they went after the teachers, who began scampering alongside students.
“They were taking away five teachers and the guard, but one teacher was resisting. They, then, beat him brutally with their guns and went away with the rest.
“Those abducted include the security man, Jonathan Woforu; a male corps member; two female teachers, one being a nursing mother and one male teacher.”
She said the kidnappers wore army uniforms with masked faces.
She added that the abductors took their victims to a nearby river, Sembrero River, from where they took off in a waiting boat.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ahmad Muhammad (DSP), said security operatives had intensified efforts to track down the bandits.
“We are doing all it takes to safely rescue the two abducted females, a teacher and youth corps member,” he said.
