Gunmen stormed the Opolo area of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital on Thursday and abducted the 90-year-old mother of Senator Emmanuel Paulker. The gunmen shot sporadically into the air as they made away with her at about 3.00am.
Although no motive has been established for the daredevil action of the gunmen, the old woman was taken away from her residence which is just a shouting distance from the headquarters of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and a contingent of the state special security outfit station.
The action is considered as unusual as it happened within the Yenagoa metropolis, where there was no get-away boat stationed anywhere nearby.
The gunmen, whose number could not be ascertained, snatched their victim without any confrontation from law enforcement agents, despite the shooting.
Her grandson and driver, who was with her when the gunmen invaded, was reportedly injured, while trying to stop them from taking the old woman away.
As at the time of this report, he was said to be receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in the state capital.
The kidnappers were said to have gained access to their victim’s residence after cutting the protector to the building and escaped with her in their getaway vehicle.
Opolo is a densely populated suburb, while the scene of crime was not far from the community town hall.
Unconfirmed reports had it that an operative of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was reportedly shot dead by the kidnappers, while escaping with their victim.
The remains of the deceased security operative had been deposited at the Okolobiri morgue of the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Alex Akhigbe, confirmed the incident and gave the age of the senator’s mother as 90, quoting the family members.
This is the second time the old woman has been abducted. In 2009, she was kidnapped for eight days until a ransom was paid for her release.
The incident is coming on the heel of another kidnap of the uncle of the former governor of the state, Timipre Sylva, whose whereabouts is still unknown as the kidnappers are yet to contact the family.
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