Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted Mr Akari Eloghonan Loveday, the Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Samuel Ogbuku.
Akari was kidnapped on Friday on the waterway en route to Ayakoro community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the hometown of the NDDC Managing Director.
Locals around the coastal community told Daily Trust on Saturday that the kidnappers stopped the boat conveying Akari and other passengers, pulled him into their own boat and tried to flee.
They said as the kidnappers were trying to escape, the engine of the boat they were in stalled, and they had to paddle to the bank of the river and whisk away their victim into the bush.
The source said: “The SA Domestic to the NDDC MD has been kidnapped. He was kidnapped along the river on the way to Ayakoro when he was kidnapped.
“They took him out of the boat, but as they tried to get away, their engine stopped suddenly, so they pulled to the shore and ran into the bush. On the road to Otuoke, there was heavy police presence. They were doing stop and search.”
The police spokesman in Bayelsa State, DSP Musa Muhammad, who confirmed the incident to Daily Trust on Saturday, said the operatives of the command had commenced operations to apprehend the hoodlums and rescue the victim.
