Posted by By ISMAIL OMIPIDAN, Abuja on
The Senate has called on the police and other relevant security agencies to immediately swing into action to secure the release of little Miss Margaret Hill, who was last Thursday captured by gun-totting men in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The Senate has called on the police and other relevant security agencies to immediately swing into action to secure the release of little Miss Margaret Hill, who was last Thursday captured by gun-totting men in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
In a statement personally signed by the deputy Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, who still holds brief as the official Senate spokesman, a copy of which was made available to Daily Sun in Abuja yesterday, the Senate described the abduction of the little girl as an unacceptable act of criminal brigandage, which poses new challenges to the security agencies who must ensure that little kids are not kept for long periods to suffer the grueling experiences of adult hostages.
However, the Senate was quick to caution the security agencies to ensure that in trying to secure the release of the little girl, they should ensure they maintain what it described as a delicate balance between the imperative of apprehending the perpetrators of the crime with the need to ensuring the safe return of the girl to the waiting hands of her parents.
While describing the abduction of adults as both criminal and unacceptable, the Senate said the abduction of the little girl was not only repugnant but also poses a new threat to the lives of infants within the area, even as it condemned the demand for ransom from her father by her captors, saying that it would amount to setting a dangerous precedent to concede to the demand.
'The alleged demand by her captors to her father, Mr. Mike Hill, to submit himself and take her daughter's place is not only repulsive, but also smacks of the most hideous variety of blackmail, which must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Were Mr. Hill to succumb to this patently evil option if only to secure the safe release of her beloved daughter, a dangerous precedent would have been set and an undeserved victory handed over to the criminals who will gloat over the triumph of evil and criminality over civilised conduct.
'We are strongly of the view that no ransom should be paid to the kidnappers, as the huge lure of financial windfall appears to have continued to fuel the trade in hostage-taking. While all legitimate means must be employed to secure the safe release of Margaret and all other hostages currently in captivity, the kidnappers must henceforth, not be left in any doubt that this illicit ‘business' in human ‘spoils' would no longer be tolerated.
'The Senate will continue to work closely with the executive to ensure that all workable initiatives collectively agreed to by all stakeholders in Niger Delta are faithfully implemented. Hostage-grabbing, kidnapping and other acts of criminality are certainly not the way forward. Let all genuine concerns of the region be addressed through dialogue on the round table," the Senate added.