Gunmen in army uniform kidnap Bayelsa community leader

Gunmen dressed in army uniform stormed Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Friday and abducted the community’s leader, Chief Geoffrey Agorodo.

The gunmen numbering four were said to have captured Agorodo at the Ogbia water front before whisking him away to an unknown destination about 9pm.

Agorodo was reportedly hauled into a waiting speedboat by the suspected kidnappers, who sped off after shooting continually into the air to scare residents away.

Condemning the abduction, the Chairman of the Ogbia Clan, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Mr. Osaanya B. Osaanya, said it was one kidnapping too many in the area.

Osaanya affirmed, “Kidnapping has become a worrisome development in Ogbia. Kidnappers have laid siege on our area and at the last count, over five persons were abducted in the past one month.

“This development is unacceptable. Most of the victims were elderly men and women, including traditional rulers.”

Osaanya who appealed to youths to stay away from criminal activities urged them to engage in legitimate means of livelihoods.

He called on the state government and security agencies to come up with a better proactive approach of tackling criminality in the area.

Osaanya while stressing that youths in the community were ready to partner security agencies, called on the Ogbia local government area to float a security programme to address the trend.

Confirming the abduction, the State Police Spokesperson, Mr. Butswat Asinim, said investigation into identifying and rescuing the community leader had commenced.

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