Posted by By Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka on
A team of policemen Monday rescued Prince Kenneth Emeakayi, former Anambra State Commissioner for Works and Transport, who was abducted by kidnappers who demanded N200 million ransome.
A team of policemen Monday rescued Prince Kenneth Emeakayi, former Anambra State Commissioner for Works and Transport, who was abducted by kidnappers who demanded N200 million ransome.
The ex-commissioner, who was abducted Tuesday, September 29, 2005 along Nnobi-Nnewi road, was rescued by men of the Anambra State Police Command in a thick forest, in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area of the state.
Narrating his ordeal in the hands of the abductors, Emeakayi, who was the most powerful commissioner in former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju's government, told newsmen that he was accosted in his car by the kidnappers who operated in a black jeep, beaten up and whisked away to an unknown destination.
His words: "I must first of all give thanks to God for my survival. On 29th September, 2005, I went to Awka to report to the commissioner of police, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, that some pain cloth policemen came to my house the previous day and ransacked my house on the grounds that petitions were written against me by some people they refused to mention to me. I could not lay the complaint because he (Ogbaudu) was said to have gone out.
"On my way back to Okija later in the afternoon of that same day, I saw the same black jeep that brought the plain cloth policemen to my house coming behind me and flashing light. I decided to clear by the roadside and they crossed my vehicle and started beating me. Before I could do anything, the six men held me by my arms and covered my eyes.
"From that point I didn't know where we were going. Beside, I was in serious pains, as a result of the beating. The few times they opened my eyes, I saw myself in a thick forest, but in different locations.
"They tortured me and demanded N200 million ransome or they would kill me. Their leader, with a very deep voice, had told me that they were actually paid to kill me but that if I could pay them higher, I would be released. All I told them before the policemen came was that they should allow me to go and raise the money, but they refused.
"I am now taking treatment. I should have been to Awka but my doctor said I'm not fit to go out. Help me thank God and the police. For the number of days they held me, they compelled me to eat some things that were not good to my health because I have some health problems".
Confirming the rescue mission to newsmen Monday, the Deputy Police Relations Officer (DPPRO) of the Command, Mr. Bethel Amah, said that following a tip-off during the investigation into the abduction or kidnap of the former commissioner, men of the anti-robbery squad challenged the hoodlums in their hide-out at the forest in the early hours of Sunday.
Amah said that when policemen accosted the gang, "the hoodlums opened fire on the policemen who tactically replied and overpowered them with a superior firearms."
The deputy image-maker of the command further said that the hoodlums kidnapped Emeakayi along Nnobi-Nnewi road and whisked him to their hideout where they demanded a ransom of N200 million before they would release him.
He said the police were still investigating the matter and gave assurance that the perpetrators would be brought to book, though he was silent on whether the police arrested any of the hoodlums.
Meanwhile, it was jubilation galore in Okija, the home of Emeakayi as the news of his rescue filtered in. According to a family source, friends and well wishers have been visiting to thank God for saving the man's life.