Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have reportedly abducted an officer of the Vehicle Inspection Officers in Sapele at her home in Amukpe, Sapele Council Area of Delta State.
The victim, Mrs. Owumi, who is married to a prominent chief in the town, according to a source, was allegedly abducted at about 6am on Sunday as she was about leaving for church and taken to an unknown destination through the Sapele River.
She was said to have been kidnapped alongside her children and a male co-tenant but the hoodlums later freed the other victims.
The rate of kidnapping in Sapele and its environs has been on the increase as prominent persons including the former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Chief Monday Igbuya, and security personnel had also been abducted but released after ransoms were paid.
A resident of Sapele, Edo Ogheneovo, while confirming the incident, lamented that despite the heavy presence of security personnel comprising the navy, army and police in the area, activities of kidnappers had gone unabated.
He noted that rather than the security agencies channelling their efforts towards tackling kidnapping, soldiers and policemen are harassing innocent residents while kidnappers and criminals attack people unchecked.
In May this year, gunmen suspected to be militants attacked a Marine Police team in Sapele and abducted four of its officers whose lifeless bodies were later recovered after five days.
* The Punch
