Posted by By Henry Chukwurah, Port Harcourt & Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa on
Hours after the lifeless body of 93-year-old Pa Mathew Abu, father of the Accountant General of Rivers State, was found dumped on the road in the outskirts of Port Harcourt, gunmen struck again, abducting the father of a lawmaker in the state, Hon Victor Ihunwo.
Hours after the lifeless body of 93-year-old Pa Mathew Abu, father of the Accountant General of Rivers State, was found dumped on the road in the outskirts of Port Harcourt, gunmen struck again, abducting the father of a lawmaker in the state, Hon Victor Ihunwo.
Ironically, the gunmen came calling late Friday night on the eve of the lawmaker's wedding.
And as if to call their bluff, Hon Ihunwo, who represents Port Harcourt 3 Constituency in the State House of Assembly, went ahead with his wedding the following morning (Saturday).
The abduction occurred just as a section of the Federal Light Terminal (FLT) at Onne Ports went up in flames.
Sources stated that unknown gunmen struck at the Wobo Street, Mile Three, Diobu residence of the elderly Ihunwo and forced him into a waiting vehicle and sped off.
Expectedly, the incident dampened the usual joyful excitement association with the wedding eve.
However, the family literally disappointed the joy killers as it resolved to go ahead with Hon Ihunwo's wedding.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnap.
When contacted, Police Relations Officer in the State, Mrs Rita Inoma-Abbey (DSP) told Sunday Sun that the hunt for the gunmen and their victim has started.
The premises of a company, Geofluid Nigeria Limited, at the Federal Lighter Terminal (FLT) in the Onne Ports complex was in flame Saturday morning.
The cause of the inferno that caused thick black smoke in the ports could not be ascertained as at Press time.
Some of the vessels that berthed at the Ports had to be moved midstream as fire fighters tackled the fire for hours to put it off.
In a related development, three soldiers attached to the Joint Military Force (JTF) in Bayelsa state and four civilians are feared dead after boarding a speed boat from Obioku in Nembe local government area.
According to reports, the passengers left Obioku Friday morning and have not seen since embarking on the 20-minute journey to Nembe .
The disappearance of the passengers has generated tension in the JTF camp as the Commander, Lt. Col Chris Musa, upon hearing the news dispatched a search party to comb the entire waterways. The efforts have yielded no results.
The incident has also fuelled suspicion that the missing soldiers might have been attacked by gunmen who have been on rampage in the area,
A source in the area said they might have been killed by the gunmen since neither the boat nor the passengers could be found.
'Three military officers and two civilians and a boat driver were suspected to have been killed by gunmen near Obioku community in Nembe local government area of Bayelsa