Officials in Freetown, Sierra Leone capital, yesterday, said that a defence attache and deputy head of the country’s high commission in Abuja, Alfred Nelson Williams, who was abducted by unknown men in Nigeria few days ago, is alive and healthy.
The diplomat was abducted on July 1 while travelling to Kaduna state, as security officials in the state confirmed.
A presidential spokesperson, Abdulai Baytraytay said, “We are certain he is alive.”
“Sierra Leone has sent a special envoy to Abuja as an intermediary to open a line of communication between the alleged kidnappers and our high commission.
The Spokesman noted that for security reasons, he wouldn’t explain how he knew Nelson-Williams was alive.
He added, “President Ernest Bai Koroma is very concerned over the kidnap… and is in around-the-clock contact with the president of Nigeria on the matter.”
Also, Deputy Information and Communications Minister, Cornelius Deveaux said Nelson was “in good health.”
He added, “We continue to have complete confidence in the ability of the Nigerian authorities to handle the matter.”
Deveaux, however, said nothing has been heard about whether a ransom had been demanded by the abductors.
However, there have been reports making the rounds that the kidnappers had demanded a 40 million-dollar ransom.
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